Amendments are being made to the current Finance Bill to allow VCTs to hold short term deposits as part of their non-qualifying holdings. The following links are to:
Amendment (number 135) to the Finance Bill:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2016-2017/0047/amend/finance_rm_0719.1-7.html
the explanatory note:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/finance-bill-2016-report-stage
Deposits which cannot be accessed within 7 days are not permitted, so not all bank deposits are permitted. No amendment has been made to allow VCTs to invest in government gilts.
The changes are being backdated to 6 April 2016, the date from which the new “non-qualifying investments condition” is proposed to apply.
The Finance Bill Committee debated the new exclusion of power generation in clause 28 of the Finance Bill, but did not specifically consider the new “non-qualifying investments condition” in clause 31.
The current version of the Finance Bill is at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2016-2017/0047/17047.pdf
