The charity and social enterprise sector is to receive £31m through the Dormant Assets Scheme, the government has announced.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said the money will be distributed by social investment organisations Access and Big Society Capital with a focus on supporting them amid the cost of living crisis and improving their energy efficiency.

This includes funding for charities and social enterprises to “retrofit premises with cleaner, greener and more efficient energy systems, such as new boilers or heat pumps, solar panels, and new lighting”, said the government.

The money is part of a £76m package of funding being handed out through the scheme. This also includes no-interest loans to 69,000 people struggling with their finances through a £45m grant to be distributed by Fair4AllFinance.

Access chief executive Seb Elsworth welcomed the immediate release of £31m to charities and social enterprises saying it “will help those struggling with rising energy bills by supporting organisations to be more energy efficient and those looking to meet increased demand for their services as a result of the cost of living crisis”.

£76 million redirected from forgotten accounts to those struggling with the cost of living

Thanks to the Dormant Assets Scheme, millions of pounds will help people get out of debt and assist social enterprises with energy saving solutions

Learn more ▶️ https://t.co/mXwzo7qNMv pic.twitter.com/FgaqW6o0hd

— Department for Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) March 7, 2023

The Dormant Assets Scheme hands unclaimed money from bank and building society accounts and is soon to be expanded to include assets from insurance, pensions, investment, wealth management and securities sectors. This will boost the scheme by a further £738m, said the government. Since 2011 the scheme has released £892m in funding.

In addition, newly created community wealth funds will become an additional beneficiary of the scheme. These involve long term funding for disadvantaged communities and will “shortly” be subject to a public consultation.

The government has said it intends to name youth, financial inclusion, social investment wholesalers and community wealth funds as the four key areas the expanded dormant assets scheme will support.

“The creation of a community wealth fund will give local residents in some of the more deprived areas of the country the power to improve where they live and invest in what’s important to them,” said charities minister Stuart Andrew.

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