In his Spring 2023 Budget this week, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said funds paid into the Court Funds Office that remain unclaimed for 30 years will revert to the Exchequer and the right to claim will be extinguished.
The Court Funds Office, based in Glasgow, acts as a bank for money paid into and out of the courts in England and Wales, and looks after any investments made with that money. It holds money on behalf of clients who are mentally incapacitated according to the definition of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and on behalf of children who have obtained an award through civil litigation until they reach the age of 18. It holds a large fund of unclaimed money due to a variety of reasons, including cases being launched but discontinued, and house repossessions where owners can’t be traced.
