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Dormant Assets Bill [HL]

Moved by

Lord Bassam of Brighton

1: Clause 29, page 22, line 13, at end insert—

“(1A) An order under this section may enable the creation of funds (to be known as “community wealth funds”) that may make grants and other payments to support the provision of social infrastructure to further the wellbeing of communities suffering from high levels of deprivation and low levels of social infrastructure.

(1B) The Secretary of State may—

(a) by order create one or more community wealth funds for a temporary period of at least 10 years, and

(b) at the end of that period review the efficacy of the community wealth funds with a view to creating community wealth funds on a permanent basis.

(1C) In subsection (1A), “social infrastructure” means—

(a) buildings or other assets owned or managed by organisations located in communities for the purposes of local residents’ meeting, socialising, accessing educational resources, or conducting other activities to improve their wellbeing, or

(b) organisations, whether incorporated or unincorporated, existing for the purposes set out in paragraph (a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i) or (j) of section 3(1) of the Charities Act 2011.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment would enable orders under Clause 29 to create community wealth funds as a means of tackling deprivation and building social infrastructure in left-behind communities. It would mandate the Secretary of State to establish and review the effectiveness of one or more pilot schemes which would run over at least ten years.