Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising women and girls as a discrete beneficiary group under the Dormant Assets Scheme.

The Dormant Assets Scheme has released over £1 billion for good causes across the UK. In 2022, we publicly consulted on which causes the English portion of funding should support, receiving 3,300 responses from the general public, civil society organisations and the financial services industry. Following this, the government confirmed that the English portion of funding would be directed to four named causes: youth, financial inclusion and education, social investment wholesalers, and community wealth funds.

Although women and girls are not named as a discrete cause within the Scheme, they are supported across all the named purposes in England. For example, through the youth cause, the Scheme has funded programmes for young women (aged 14–24) who face significant barriers to employment, backing community-led initiatives that provide mentoring. Through social investment, the Scheme has provided essential funding to charities and social enterprises that deliver practical, targeted support for women and girls nationwide. This includes investment in organisations creating safe housing pathways for vulnerable women, and funding that helps groups purchase equipment and build sustainable income streams to strengthen employment and education opportunities for minoritised women.

This Government remains committed to strengthening the women’s voluntary and community sector and we will continue to ensure alternative funding programmes reach organisations supporting women and girls.