7th March 2023: today the government announced social investment and financial inclusion will continue to be supported by money from dormant accounts when the scheme expands to include assets from additional industries.
This is good news for people, places and enterprises, and for CDFIs which are instrumental in getting flexible and fair investment into communities.
DCMS’s announcement highlighted the power of community enterprise, mentioning our member BCRS Business Loans and their client Miss Macaroon (watch the fantastic film clip of founder and CEO, Rosie Ginday MBE), below. The government also announced an immediate grant of £45million to be distributed by Fair4All Finance to support people in financially vulnerable circumstances with the rising cost of living.
Theodora Hadjimichael, CEO of Responsible Finance, said:
“The Government’s response to the consultation on the purposes of Dormant Assets is good news for people, places and enterprises. CDFIs are instrumental in getting flexible and fair investment to under-served communities.
“Social and community enterprises deliver exemplary services and unlock opportunities. We are proud to be part of the coalition backing community enterprise and delighted to see our member BCRS Business Loans and their client Miss Macaroon recognised in the DCMS announcement.
“On top of this, many CDFIs help people avoid high-cost and exploitative lenders and work with Fair4All Finance to help households boost their financial resilience. We welcome the additional funding to support people in financially vulnerable circumstances with the rising cost of living. CDFIs look forward to ensuring people get the support they need as soon as possible.”
The Dormant Assets Scheme aims to reunite people with long-untouched financial assets; if this is not possible it can be can be transferred to the Scheme and distributed to social and environmental initiatives. It currently unlocks money from forgotten bank and building society accounts and will expand to include assets from the insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors. This will make an estimated £738 million more available over time.
In today’s announcement the government also confirmed that community wealth funds will become an additional beneficiary of the scheme.
What next?
- Watch this short film clip of Miss Macaroon describing how working with our member BCRS helped her business, a social enterprise. You can also watch it here: