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Banks should be forced to participate in the government's scheme to retrieve unclaimed assets, a select committee has concluded.

Members of the House of Commons' Treasury committee recommend making it compulsory for banks and building societies to hand over money held in accounts which have been dormant for over 15 years.

The report backed the thinking behind the government's proposal, which will see money stuck in disused bank accounts used for good purposes.

But it calls for savings held in the government's National Savings and Investments agency to be included in the scheme and for the dormancy period to be cut from 15 to ten years.

Committee chairman John McFall said banks "should not be given the opportunity to duck out of" the scheme, which he explained was not in their interests.

"If the UK continues along the road of a voluntary scheme, we will be out of step with every other comparable country," he warned.

The minutes of the committee's meeting show only Mr McFall's vote swayed it in favour of advocating compulsion, the director general of the Building Societies Association (BSA) claims.

Adrian Coles said his organisation favoured a voluntary approach because the costs of enforcing a compulsory alternative were not worthwhile.

"The BSA is committed to the unclaimed assets scheme and will be encouraging all building societies to sign-up to it. Indications are that the vast majority will do so," he added.

"The committee recommends that the scheme be made compulsory at a later date if the voluntary approach does not work. The BSA does not anticipate this to be necessary but nonetheless is content with this recommendation."