Tag Archives: HM Government

• These include housing vulnerable people, helping disadvantaged young people into work and dealing with problem debt

• By 2020 the total distribution from dormant accounts to good causes will reach over half a billion pounds

Up to £330 million from dormant bank and building society accounts will be used to help the homeless, disadvantaged young people, local charities and other good causes in the UK over the next four years, Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, announced today.

Around £280 million will be allocated to initiatives across England to help disadvantaged young people into work, provide housing for families and vulnerable people, and tackle problem debt.

Of this, up to £135 million will be used by Big Society Capital (BSC) to fund stable and long-term accommodation for vulnerable groups such as homeless people and those suffering with mental health issues, as well as to provide support for local charities and social enterprises. This allocation meets existing funding commitments to Big Society Capital, who will use it to leverage substantial private co-investment, to maximise the impact of these funds.

Around £90 million will also be invested in support of projects that help disadvantaged young people into employment. These initiatives will be jointly designed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education and Big Lottery Fund with input from young people.

The remaining £55 million is set to be awarded to financial inclusion and capability initiatives which will tackle issues such as problem debt, as well as improving access to financial products and services for those on lower incomes.

Out of the £330 million, up to £50 million will be made available for good causes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will be distributed by the Big Lottery Fund. Each devolved administration will then decide how these funds are used.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

By unlocking millions of pounds from dormant accounts for a range of good causes, we can make a real difference to lives and communities across the country.

This is part of the Government’s commitment to building a fairer society and tackling the social injustices that hold people back from achieving their full potential.

I am grateful to the banks and building societies, as well as Reclaim Fund Ltd, for their work to free up these funds for good causes. Working in close partnership with the financial sector and civil society, we are determined to help create a country that works for everyone and build a Britain fit for the future.

The funding for social investment in England will also include £10 million for Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, BSC’s sister organisation.

In a joint statement, Cliff Prior, Chief Executive of Big Society Capital, and Seb Elsworth, Chief Executive of Access said:

This capital will enable many more charities and social enterprises to improve the lives of people all around the UK, delivering larger and more innovative solutions in the focus areas of homes for people in need, and supporting communities experiencing disadvantage.

The Government will work closely with the Big Lottery Fund, as well as a range of social sector and private sector partners, to develop these initiatives over the next few months.

To help support the most vulnerable in society, the Government is already providing over £1 billion up to 2020 to reduce all forms of homelessness and rough sleeping. The Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform in decades, is also being brought in to ensure people get the right support sooner.

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of Big Lottery Fund, said:

The Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act has made over half a billion pounds available for good causes in the UK. The Big Lottery Fund is proud to be the organisation which distributes these funds and we look forward to working with Government and others to do this.

This funding will give people the opportunity to take the lead in making lasting and sustainable change in their lives and communities.

Adrian Smith, Chief Executive of Reclaim Fund Ltd, added:

We are delighted that this release will bring the total distributed from Reclaim Fund to Big Lottery Fund to more than £500 million in the first six years of the scheme. We will continue to work hard in ensuring that consumers can at any time reclaim money owed from their dormant accounts while working with the government to deliver further funds for good causes.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• For more information call the DCMS press office: 02072112210

• The definition of a dormant bank or building society account is in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act: an account is ‘dormant’ at a particular time if the account has been open throughout the period of 15 years ending at that time, but during that period no transactions have been carried out in relation to the account by or on the instructions of the holder of the account.

• Customers in the current scheme are able to reclaim any asset deemed dormant at any time.

• Following the introduction of the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act in 2008, Reclaim Fund Ltd (RFL) was established by the Co-operative Banking Group Limited to administer the process of the dormant accounts scheme.

• Since the Dormant Accounts Scheme was established in 2008, almost £1 billion of dormant accounts money has been identified. Of this, more than £360 million has so far been directed towards good causes across the UK.

• The estimation of £330 million is based on funds expected to be made available from dormant bank and building society accounts over the next four years under the current dormant account legislation.

• Today’s announcement is based on funding expected to be made available under the current dormant accounts scheme only. In addition, the independent Commission on Dormant Assets made recommendations in March 2017 to Government on expanding the scheme to include a wider range of dormant financial assets. The Government is currently considering the Commission’s recommendations and will respond in due course.

• The funding to social investment will meet the government’s £100 million commitment to Big Society Capital (BSC). In addition £35 million will be provided to BSC and Access Foundation to be innovative in helping increase the sustainability of the social investment market.

• The £90 million youth programme is being developed by the Big Lottery Fund, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education. It will be designed through engagement with young people and experts across different sectors, including the youth, education, VCSE and business sectors. The Big Lottery Fund will set out plans for engagement in early 2018.

About Big Lottery Fund:

Big Lottery Fund uses money raised by National Lottery players to help communities achieve their ambitions. From small, local projects to UK-wide initiatives, our funding brings people together to make a difference to their health, wellbeing and environment. Since June 2004 we have awarded £8.5 billion to projects that improve the lives of millions of people.

read more

Sean Dennehey, the IPO’s Deputy Chief Executive, received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to intellectual property in the New Year’s Honours list.

Sean first joined the IPO as a patent examiner in 1978, when the office was based in London. He then moved to Newport in 1991 when the department transferred to its present South Wales base. Sean became Director of Patents in 2004 and Deputy Chief Executive in 2007. He also served as Chief Executive on several occasions, most recently when John Alty left in 2016.

Sean had this to say:

I feel very privileged to be awarded a CBE for my services to intellectual property. This a great honour for me, but I genuinely believe it is also a recognition of the fantastic work done by everyone here at the IPO. Whatever I may have achieved has only been possible because of the great people it’s my pleasure and privilege to work with.

read more

Upside Energy founder Graham Oakes.

read more

The Prime Minister will be in Wokingham, Berkshire, today [Wednesday 3 January] to meet one of the estimated 16,000 people who have already benefited from changes to stamp duty announced by the Government in the Autumn Budget.

The stamp duty changes will mean a saving of up to £5,000 for first-time buyers in Wokingham.

The Government has abolished stamp duty altogether for first-time buyer purchases up to £300,000, and made this relief available for the first £300,000 of properties worth up to £500,000, providing help for people in higher value areas.

The changes mean a stamp duty cut for 95% of all first-time buyers who pay it and no stamp duty at all for 80% of first time buyers, with savings of up to £5,000.

Over 16,000 first-time buyers are estimated to have already saved thousands of pounds since the changes took effect in November, with over a million first-time buyers set to benefit in total over the next five years.

Ahead of the visit, Prime Minister Theresa May said:

I have made it my personal mission to build the homes this country needs so we can restore the dream of home ownership for people up and down the UK.

In the Autumn we set out ambitious plans to fix the broken housing market and make sure young people have the same opportunities as their parents’ generation to own their own home.

This has had an immediate impact, with thousands of people already making savings thanks to our stamp duty cut, and over a million first-time buyers over the next 5 years are expected to save money that they can put towards a deposit, solicitors’ fees or furniture.

We are building a Britain that is fit for the future and our message to the next generation is this – getting on – and climbing up – the housing ladder is not just a dream of your parents’ past, but a reality for your future.

The stamp duty change builds on the steps already taken to help young people enter the housing market – including the successful Help to Buy scheme and introduction of Lifetime ISAs.

At the Autumn Budget the Government announced the UK will deliver an average 300,000 additional homes each year by the mid-2020s through targeted new financial support and reforms to the planning system. These measures mean that we are on track to raise annual housing supply by the end of the Parliament to its highest level since 1970.

The Budget set out a series of other measures to boost the housing market including:

• Providing £1.1bn to help prepare sites for developers to build homes on
• Providing £1.5bn in SME loans to build houses
• Providing £630m to provide infrastructure to accelerate homes on small sites
• Providing £1bn in borrowing for councils to build new council homes
• Providing £2.7bn of grants to local authorities for strategic infrastructure to support new house building
• Investing £400m to transform estates
• Providing financial guarantees worth £8bn to support housebuilding
• Reforming developer contributions to ensure that funding for new infrastructure and affordable housing is made simpler and quicker

read more

Charities with financial years ending on 31 March 2017 have less than four weeks to go before the final deadline to file their annual return.

By law, these charities must submit a return by 31 January 2018, no later than 10 months after the end of their financial year.

Thousands of charities have already filed their returns but there are still many that have not.

They run the risk of trying to file nearer to deadline day without the correct documentation or, crucially, the password they need to access the online service and then going into default.

To avoid the possibility of this happening, please either file your annual return for 2017 now, if you know what you need to submit, have a current working password, know your charity number and have kept your charities details, such as email and contact address and current trustees up to date.

Alternatively, please make sure you know where your password is, or apply for a new one (please note this will take at least 24 hours and can only be sent to the email address we have on file). Then update your charity’s details before reading our detailed guide into how to prepare your annual return, including what you need to submit, based on your charity’s chosen structure.

File your 2017 annual return now

read more