Question reference: S6W-24568
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 17 January 2024
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 January 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress on distributing any funds that it receives as result of the UK Government's Dormant Assets Scheme.
Answer
Since its launch in 2008, the Dormant Assets Scheme has released £892 million, around £75 million of which has been received in Scotland.
This money is distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund through their Young Start programme which provides funding to create opportunities for children and young people aged between 8 and 24, aimed at helping to realise their potential.
Following review and consultation by the UK Government, the Dormant Assets Act 2022 provides for the expansion of the scheme from bank and building society accounts to include additional assets across the insurance, pensions, investment, wealth management and securities sectors.
It is expected that this will lead to an increase in the funding that Scotland receives from the scheme although the extent and timing of this are still unknown.
Scottish Government officials are engaging regularly with counterparts in the UK Government and the National Lottery Community Fund on and the implications of the scheme’s expansion on the distribution of associated assets in Scotland. Further update will be provided when available.