Hundreds of charities and social enterprises across the UK are set to receive a share of tied up and forgotten accounts worth millions.
There is £800m worth of dormant assets and the government has recently announced how £76m of these assets will be distributed. The government has confirmed that £31m will go to charities and social enterprises. This money will be used to implement cleaner and greener energy systems on the premises of charities and social enterprises such as lighting, solar panels, heat pumps and boilers.
What are Dormant Assets?
Dormant assets are financial assets which have remained untouched for long periods of time. The Dormant Assets Scheme (backed by the government) aims to reunite people with their lost funds. However, if this cannot be achieved, these dormant assets are then transferred into the Dormant Assets Scheme where they are distributed to social and environmental initiatives.
The scheme is currently only able to unlock money from forgotten bank and building society accounts. However, the scheme will soon have the power to access assets such as:
- Insurance
- Pensions
- Investments
- Wealth management
- Securities sector
Since 2011, £892m has been distributed via the scheme and thanks to the scheme being expanded into more sectors an estimated £738m is expected to made available over time.
This fund will be used the support youth, social enterprises and those in financial difficulty.
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