Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [Lords]

I recognise my hon. Friend's point, but the scheme that we are proposing has strong support from the industry and both banks and building societies have said that they intend to participate in it. That is encouraging, which is why we have set out the Bill in this way, but we will need to review the situation over time, to monitor the scheme's progress and to look into what further support may be needed. Three principles have informed the Government's approach: first, that the preferred outcome should, where possible, be to reunite account holders with their money; secondly, that account holders must have the legal right to reclaim their money at any time; and thirdly, that the scheme should be designed to run effectively and efficiently in order to maximise the money available for reinvestment in the community. The scheme will allow eligible banks and building societies to transfer money in accounts that have lain untouched for at least 15 years to a so-called reclaim fund. By making the transfer, the liability to repay the account holder will also pass from the bank to the reclaim fund. Any money that the reclaim fund does not need to meet the claims of customers will be passed over for reinvestment in the community via the Big Lottery Fund. The scheme aims to capture genuinely lost accounts. That is why we have set the dormancy period at 15 years. Some people have argued that it is too long, but we still think that it is appropriate. We will, however, bring forward an amendment to enable this period to be made longer or shorter in future if the evidence shows it to be appropriate, as it is important to ensure proper protection for account holders.