Martyn Jones MP receives praise for his work on dormant accounts

Tuesday 6th November

Martyn Jones MP was delighted today to hear the Queen’s speech contained a prominent mention of legislation created to utilise money in dormant accounts for the public good. Martyn has been at the forefront of this campaign working with Gordon Brown for many years to bring about such a legislative shift.

Mr Jones first publicly announced his concern over the issue of dormant accounts in 2004. He held consultations with the banking industry and with the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Thanks to this hard work this issue was brought up in the 2005 Pre-Budget Report where a full consultation was ordered.

Over the past years Mr Jones has led a number of EDMs (Early Day Motions) in the House of Commons to sustain pressure on the government consultation. These petitions have attracted cross party support for the public use of dormant account funds.

A dormant account is defined as money from forgotten bank accounts, which the owner has a permanent right to reclaim. In the past, these funds had simply been added to the profit margins of the banking industry. It is a sign of incredible progress that just a few years on we are close to legislation to assure that these funds are to be invested in the public’s interest.

Today in her address to the Houses of Parliament, Her Majesty the Queen stated that a Bill would be introduced to assure income from dormant accounts would be invested in the procurement of greater youth facilities to strengthen local communities.

Following the speech Martyn Jones MP issued the following statement:

“It is gratifying to see something I have worked on for many years at the forefront of government policy. I eagerly look forward to seeing the proposed Dormant Accounts Bill and hope that it will live up to the expectations of so many who have worked with me to bring this legislation about.

I will continue to work with the Government to assure that these funds are used for the public good and not to pad out the profit margins of our major bank’s shareholders.

A Treasury consultation on the new dormant accounts legislation is due soon and I look forward to working with Alistair and Gordon in passing a piece of legislation that has the interests of Britain’s communities at its core.”

The Chancellor of Exchequer added his acknowledgement of Mr Jones’ hard work on this issue stating:

“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.”