New Revenue Source for British Government: Dormant Bank Accounts
July 19th, 2010Via: Bloomberg:
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to use “hundreds of millions of pounds” from dormant bank accounts to fund community projects, while Business Secretary Vince Cable said lenders “ripped off” customers.
Cameron said he will press ahead with a proposal set out in the coalition government’s program to establish a “Big Society Bank” to finance moves by charitable groups and not-for-profit companies to take over jobs currently done by the government.
“These unclaimed assets, alongside the private-sector investment that we will leverage, will mean that the Big Society Bank will over time make available hundreds of millions of pounds of new finance to some of the most dynamic social organizations in our country,” Cameron said in a speech in Liverpool, northwest England, today.
Cameron said the idea ties in with his plans for a general overhaul of the public services, as the government tries to narrow a record budget deficit. The new Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that 490,000 public-sector jobs will be lost by April 2015.
“We’ve got to get rid of the centralized bureaucracy that wastes money and undermines morale,” Cameron said. “In its place, we’ve got to give professionals much more freedom and open up public services to new providers like charities, social enterprises and private companies so we get more innovation, diversity and responsiveness to public need.”
Existing Legislation
A law passed in 2008 under Gordon Brown’s Labour government allows the government to use money from dormant bank and building-society accounts “for social or environmental purposes.” An account is dormant if the holder has made no transactions over a period of 15 years.
“The new Office for Budget Responsibility”
What an awesome and effective idea. Cameron needs to staff this office with at least ten thousand people working three alternating eight hour shifts around the clock. Can you imagine the money they are going to save? And I bet he will get a great price on bulk orders of ski masks or balaclavas.
But he needs to think big.. like “The Office for Dormant Unused Money Laying In Your Home Safe Or Underwear Drawer”. Skills needed: Locksmith skills and the ability to use GPS units a plus but not required. Training provided.
I believe the state of California does this as well, after no transactions on a bank account in as few as 2-3 years – including CDs or safe deposit boxes that don’t normally have activity like checking accounts. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/24/business/fi-perfin24