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registered interest false more like this
date less than 2020-06-10more like thismore than 2020-06-10
answering body
Attorney General more like this
answering dept id 88 more like this
answering dept short name Attorney General more like this
answering dept sort name Attorney General more like this
hansard heading Intestacy more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Attorney General, whether she has made a recent assessment of levels of compliance among local authorities with the guidance issued by the Government Legal Department on the referral to the Bona Vacantia Division of estates of people who have died without (a) known entitled relatives and (b) leaving a will and instead passing the details directly to a single heir hunting firm. more like this
tabling member constituency Bath more like this
tabling member printed
Wera Hobhouse more like this
uin 58045 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2020-06-24more like thismore than 2020-06-24
answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died without leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown. Estates which potentially fall to be dealt with as bona vacantia may be referred to BVD by a variety of routes, for example, banks, other financial institutions, solicitors or members of the public.</p><p> </p><p>There is no statutory obligation to refer estates to BVD but guidance on the referral process and the circumstances in which a referral will be accepted are published on BVD’s website (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia</a>). It is for local authorities to determine whether an estate should be referred to BVD.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-2018, 2768 estates were referred to BVD of which 909 were referred by local authorities. In 2018-2019, 1971 estates were referred to BVD of which 575 were referred by local authorities.</p><p>In 2019-2020, 2336 estates were referred to BVD of which 561 were referred by local authorities</p><p> </p><p>GLD has no responsibility for overseeing local authorities or their compliance with guidance issued by GLD about the handling of estates. Such information – including whether an estate has been referred to the Bona Vacantia Division of GLD, or whether the local authority has instructed an heir hunter – will be held by the particular local authority concerned.</p>
answering member constituency Northampton North more like this
answering member printed Michael Ellis more like this
question first answered
remove filter
answering member
4116
label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis more like this
tabling member
4602
label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse more like this