Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [Lords]

Clearly the Treasury is always accountable to Parliament for the use of its powers, but I think we should bear in mind the complexities involved in an attempt to establish parliamentary oversight of a private company, as opposed to parliamentary oversight of the Treasury and its decisions. We will propose further amendments to respond to some of the points made in the other place. We do not think that the way in which the Bill currently deals with the issue is satisfactory. Account holders will experience no practical difference in the way in which they are treated as a result of the scheme. Banks and building societies will act as the reclaim fund's agents, and on validation of their claims account holders will be repaid in full by their banks. That will include any interest that is due. The case was made in the other place that the Bill should require a triennial review of the scheme. We feel that we must ensure that the scheme is working simply and fairly, and we think it right to review it once it is up and running; however, we do not think it right to require triennial reviews in perpetuity to be included in the Bill. That issue will also feature in the discussions in Committee. As I said earlier, we need to ensure that the money raised is distributed fairly throughout the United Kingdom to deliver practical programmes that will bring about real change to neighbourhoods and benefit a diverse range of communities. As we said in the pre-Budget report, the Government intend the resources, in England, to be focused on youth services, financial capability and inclusion. Investment in young people is investment in the future of the whole community, while raising the levels of financial capability and inclusion across the population can help people to make the right financial choices to support themselves and their families. In addition, following consultation, we should like a proportion of the available assets in England to be invested in the long-term sustainability of the third sector, if resources permit such investment. The spending areas in England are set out in the Bill. Following the model used for the national lottery, the Bill also empowers the Secretary of State to identify particular priorities within the spending areas that must be taken into account in the distribution of assets. We believe that the approach should follow the precedent of the national lottery spending directions, rather than some of the proposals made in the other place. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will determine their own spending areas, which will reflect the needs of communities in each country.