Building Society Bounty

EDM number 977 in 1995-96, proposed by Frank Field on 10/06/1996.

That this House notes the recent announcements by several leading building societies to convert into public limited companies which will result in the transfer of billions of pounds of mutually owned assets to individual investors and borrowing members; further notes the intergenerational achievement of members in creating these assets over the past 150 years; calls upon building society boards to recommend their members put aside a proportion of their individual or corporate capital bounty in this conversion process for charitable causes; sees the areas of housing and community projects around the geographical areas around the building society headquarters as the most appropriate areas for charitable funds to be used; notes the findings of the recently published DEMOS pamphlet, The Building Society Bounty, which proposes a way forward for individual member philanthropy; further notes and commends the recent announcement by the Northern Rock Building Society that it is establishing the Northern Rock Foundation; notes that this foundation will have a potential grant making capacity of ú7 million per annum; and urges those other societies in the process of converting to plc status to follow this lead in order that on leaving the mutual aid sector they leave behind substantial charitable foundations for building society.

This motion has been signed by a total of 67 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.