15-11-2007

Martyn Jones launches another push on dormant accounts

Yesterday in the House of Lords the second reading of the Dormant Accounts and Building Society Accounts Bill took place. Alongside this bill’s legislative launch Martyn Jones MP has launched EDM 346, a cross party Early Day Motion, to accompany this new legislation. This bill signals the beginning of a legislative framework to allow unused money, which would otherwise make its way into the profit margins of banks, to be used for the public good.

Martyn Jones MP has long been campaigning on this issue and primarily expressed his delight that the government had taken note of his efforts in producing this bill:

“I am delighted we have reached this stage so quickly. Having campaigned on this issue since its inception it feels fantastic that it has reached the legislative stage so quickly. Today’s bill assures that people will always be entitled to reclaim their money even after dormancy status has been reached. It lays out a clear process through which money can be used to benefit local communities. And it prevents banks from being entitled to retain money from dormant accounts for their own ends.”

Mr Jones’ work on this issue has been recognised by many within government, most recently, the Chancellor of the Exchequer commented:

“Martyn has long been campaigning on this issue and his work to ensure that all communities enjoy the benefits from dormant accounts is a great tribute to him.”

Today’s Bill is a huge step in the right direction. However Martyn Jones’ cross-party EDM 346 signals that there are still some aspects of the future framework that could be improved to assure that assets are more fully utilised in the public interest.

In particular EDM 346 highlights two areas:

The length of time for dormancy status would currently be 15 years. However in other nations this period is much lower. Mr Jones’ EDM raises the question of a sliding scale so that different accounts are treated differently. For example a current account, which are often used on a daily basis, would have a shorter dormancy period than a long term savings account.

The voluntary nature of participation in this scheme. Mr Jones’ EDM explores a statement made by the 11th Report of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee in which a balance between a voluntary and compulsory scheme is envisaged. The committee suggests a clause in the bill which would grant unto the Chancellor of the Exchequer the executive powers to make the scheme compulsory should banks refuse to cooperate fully with a voluntary scheme. This would act as a strong incentive to the banking industry to cooperate and enable enforcement without further recourse to legislation.

Mr Jones issued the following statement to accompany Early Day Motion 346:

“This issue is not a political one and as much is shown by the cross-party support this EDM has drawn. This EDM is not aimed to criticise the government’s bill. Their bill is a mark of progress. However it is an EDM designed to work with the government’s bill. I don’t pretend it has all the answers or even offers the best amendments to the government’s bill. What I think it most certainly does, is provide further necessary talking points as the bill is going through its legislative process”.