Call to put 'unclaimed billions' into education

Published on Saturday 6 February 2010 19:34

MINISTERS should use the £15 billion of unclaimed cash lying in banks and building societies to help invest in education, according to one of Scotland's leading entrepreneurs.

Sir Tom Hunter says that Scotland alone would benefit by more than 2bn if the funds were raided and put to good use.

The cash, which is lying in bank accounts, pensions, investments and life insurance policies across Britain, is currently dormant, with banks waiting for customers to get in touch. Either customers have lost paperwork, forgotten about accounts or moved away from their registered address.

Hunter says that the number one priority of the incoming government should be the "eradication of child poverty".

As for funding this drive, he argues: "The British Banking Association estimates 15bn of unclaimed assets in our banks and building societies. We should use this money, and Scotland's share would be more than 2bn."

One of the country's leading philanthropists, Hunter writes in Scotland on Sunday today in the first of a series of articles examining what the future governments at Westminster and Holyrood should focus on.

Hunter says that, in Scotland, government must concentrate on three key issues: economic growth, poverty alleviation and education.

On education, he declares: "Every shred of evidence available points to the positive impact of education in increasing a young person's life chances for success. Moreover, the impact of an exceptional teacher is beyond doubt, so let's invest more in our teaching profession and reward them appropriately. Forget about class sizes – it's the teacher, stupid. They are our number one chance of tackling the cycle of poverty."

Hunter calls for education policy to be taken out of political control, and run by an independent body.

On economic policy, he calls for major tax cuts to help business prosper following the recession.