ACF responds to the Dormant Assets Scheme consultation

10 October 2022

ACF has responded to the consultation on the Dormant Assets Scheme in England, which closed yesterday (9 October).

ACF’s answers are based on discussions that we’ve had with members.

We’ve strongly agreed that Youth, Financial inclusion and Social Investment should all continue to remain causes of the Scheme in the light of the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis, and given our members work across all these areas.

We highlighted that, over the last decade, the Dormant Assets Scheme has made a transformative impact on communities and that there is now a chance to build on these strong foundations by targeting support to the communities which need it the most: in social investment terms this means offering a broader range of tools (small unsecured loans, blended finance, non-profit community lending combined with business support, enterprise grants).

ACF also supported submissions to this consultation response from the Community Enterprise Growth Plan Coalition and the Enterprise Grants Task Force.

On Community wealth, we think dormant assets funding will be vital to supporting people and communities to think long term and give residents the power to make a difference to their own lives and those of their neighbourhoods. ACF is a member of the Community Wealth Fund Alliance, which is made up of nearly 600 public, private and voluntary sector organisations as well as members of the APPG for ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, and we strongly support the inclusion of community wealth funds as a cause of the Dormant Assets Scheme in England.