Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using dormant assets, as identified by the Dormant Assets Commission, to help put charities on a more sustainable financial footing.

The independent Dormant Assets Commission reported to Government on the feasibility of expanding the current dormant assets scheme to include a wider range of dormant financial assets in March 2017. The Government is still considering the Commission’s report and will publish its response in due course.

The existing dormant assets scheme is being used to help put charities and social enterprises on a more sustainable footing. More than £300m of dormant assets funding has been used to capitalise Big Society Capital, the world’s first social investment wholesaler. Alongside co-investors, Big Society Capital has made more than £1bn of social investment available to charities and social enterprises, helping them to create greater impact, diversify their business models and become more sustainable in the long-term.