Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [HL]

I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in the debate. We are to a certain extent straining over relatively minor features of the Bill. All the smaller institutions, if they want to, can participate in the nationwide scheme, so there is no restriction on them. The scheme is designed to facilitate their possible contribution to local communities, in recognition of the role that they want to play there, but they may prefer the other option. We are not talking about the small institutions in these terms; we are talking about the large ones. With regard to the large ones, the idea that they could not participate in their local communities is a little strange. One obvious objective of the national fund is financial literacy. Is it conceivable that a building society cannot bid successfully to the distributor, which will be the Big Lottery Fund, for the opportunity to provide financial literacy locally? Who is likely to compete against it and do better? There will be competitors, of course, and the Big Lottery Fund is used to competition of that kind. The idea that because large building societies are within the framework of the national objectives of the scheme they will have no relationship with the locality, apart from their present independent schemes, is based upon a misunderstanding of the Bill. We are not talking about lottery funds. It will not do for noble Lords to give the impression that these resources now flow to the lottery. They do not flow to the lottery; they have nothing to do with it. The Big Lottery Fund is merely responsible for distribution. The only reason why it is in the frame as far the legislation is concerned—legislation that has been welcomed by those who are participating voluntarily in this scheme—is because it is a recognised distributor with the regional and local centres and the powerful position in each of the nations of the United Kingdom to do its job well. It is acting as an agent for this scheme, and one should not confuse the lottery with the distribution of these resources. I must insist—as far as I am able—that we draw a clear boundary between any criticisms we may have. I recognise that criticism is not infrequently in the air about certain aspects of the National Lottery, although I have never met anyone in this country who thinks it has been a bad idea and for every person who has voiced criticism, I have met many more who have identified what it has done for their favourite causes or localities or who are bidding to make sure that that is what it should do. We are not arguing about the National Lottery. This part of the lottery is merely the distributor. In that sense, it is entirely neutral with regard to the allocation of the assets and will play its role within that framework. That is why the big banks and building societies signed up to this scheme and are happy with it.