A bill designed to increase support from banks for community projects
MPs from the three main parties have backed a private member’s bill designed to increase support from banks for community projects, according to the former Communities secretary Hazel Blears.
The full text of the Banking and Financial Services (Community Investment) Bill will not be published until nearer to the second reading, currently scheduled for 18 March 2011.
It’s described, however, as “a Bill to make provision for a voluntary mechanism through which banks, building societies and other providers of financial services can support community projects through reinvestment of part of their profits and assistance in kind; and for connected purposes.”
These are the main points from the Hansard text of Hazel Blears’ introduction of the bill to the Commons on 14 December 2010:
- The Bill is intended to address the challenges facing communities and voluntary organisations: “I hope to show the House that the funding shortfall facing such groups is of such significance that without urgent action we run the risk of losing them. The Bill then proposes a solution that I hope the Government will consider to be an equitable and practical means of remedying the situation…”
- The Big Society needs money, and the financial sector should be part of the Big Society: “During the global financial crisis, when the financial sector was in trouble, banks turned to the public to provide the vital funds needed to help stabilise the financial sector. Now, community projects need help, and the Bill would give banks and financial institutions the opportunity to put something back and to provide communities with the funding and stability that they need…”
- A national fund would address the north/south divide: “Understandably, many financial institutions focus their community work in the areas where they are based, and that is often in the south-east. By creating a fund that is accessible to all voluntary groups throughout the country, we can address that issue and ensure that funding for voluntary groups is not governed by their proximity to a financial centre…”
- Non-financial contributions would lead to continuing cross-sector partnerships: “The Bill would also provide for non-financial contributions, for example, mentoring, help with personal development and practical measures, such as room hire. It would therefore create a framework to allow for an ongoing relationship between business and communities, instead of merely creating an extension of philanthropic giving…”
- The Bill would create a voluntary mechanism: “It would not create duties or obligations but would provide incentives and opportunities for the providers of financial services to build a constructive partnership with their communities. There would be real benefits for the banks and financial institutions if they chose to take part…”
- The Bill would ensure sustainable funding: “The aims of the Bill are to ensure a sustainable source of funding for community projects; to establish a strong framework to support them; and to increase fairness by giving every community the opportunity to access the fund. That would benefit every area that we serve in the House…”
12 January 2011
