Britain's financial regulator announced on Friday that it has expanded the scope of "dormant" assets in financial firms' accounts, potentially unlocking an additional

£880 million ($1.12 billion) to fund social and environmental projects in a cash-strapped economy.

Dormant assets refer to money in bank and building society accounts that have remained untouched for at least 15 years, with unsuccessful attempts to trace the owners. Financial firms can voluntarily transfer these funds to an authorized reclaim fund for distribution. However, the original owners can still reclaim their money if they are found.

Since 2011, the UK Dormant Assets Scheme (DAS) has released over £745 million ($948.68 million) from more than £1.35 billion in dormant bank and building society accounts to support social and environmental initiatives, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA estimates that the expansion of the scheme could unlock an additional £880 million. Although Britain's annual expenditure exceeds a trillion pounds, every penny is vital for the new Labour government facing tight public finances.

"The Government has estimated that around £240 million in total will be made available from the expansion of the DAS to fund social and environmental initiatives," the FCA stated.

Following a public consultation, the FCA announced on Friday that the scheme will now include dormant investment assets and client money.

"Our proposals should result in an increase of funds being released to support good causes from investment assets and client money assets that are transferred to the DAS," the FCA said in its final policy statement. "At the same time, our proposals should enable customers who have a right to reclaim dormant assets to do so without delay or difficulty, thereby securing an appropriate degree of protection for consumers."