The government has launched a consultation to gather views on the broad social or environmental purposes of the English portion of dormant assets funding.

The public consultation follows the passage of the Dormant Assets Act 2022 earlier this year, which expanded the Dormant Assets Scheme into a wider range of sectors. The expansion potentially unlocks around £880 million for good causes across the UK, £738 million of which will be made available for England over time.

In the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and pressures on the cost of living, the government is inviting input on how the Scheme can deliver the greatest impact in England over the coming years. The consultation will inform what broad social and/or environmental causes should be prescribed in future secondary legislation. It invites specific views on four causes – youth, financial inclusion, social investment, and community wealth funds – and welcomes suggestions for any other social or environmental causes that the government should consider. They are particularly interested in hearing from local communities, current and potential participants, civil society organisations, and any interested individuals.

The closing date for this consultation is 9 October 2022.

Shropshire Council and Shropshire Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly are keen to put in a collegiate response that will set out to articulate rural realities and to Government, not least rural capacity, and that will recommend approaches that would be better models for rural areas and that would therefore help to maximise dormant asset funding in ways that will benefit rural communities.

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be involved in a joint response.

Consultation on the English portion of dormant assets funding