Home / Sources / Select Committees / Public Accounts Committee / Child Trust Funds
Index live · Last sync 22 May 2026
Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Child Trust Funds

Status: Closed Opened: 29 Mar 2023 Closed: 24 Sep 2023 2 recommendations 24 conclusions 1 report

A Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a long-term tax-free savings account for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, which they can access when they turn 18. The government paid more than £2 billion into CTFs for 6.3 million children born during this period. Most children received around £250 each from the …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixty-Seventh Report - Child Trust Funds HC 1231 26 Jul 2023 26 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
8 Conclusion Sixty-Seventh Report - Child Trust Funds Deferred

Providers can charge fees up to a cap of 1.5% per year on ‘stakeholder’ accounts,...

Providers can charge fees up to a cap of 1.5% per year on ‘stakeholder’ accounts, the most common type of Child Trust Fund account, which The Share Foundation described as equating to nearly £30 per year on a typical account. HMRC does not track how much providers are charging. The …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's observation on CTF provider fees but states that providers have the lead responsibility for terms and conditions, which are industry matters. HMRC will encourage providers via a working group to adhere to their responsibilities …
HM Treasury
9 Conclusion Sixty-Seventh Report - Child Trust Funds Deferred

Providers are making even more money from some Child Trust Funds in other ways, as...

Providers are making even more money from some Child Trust Funds in other ways, as other types of Child Trust Fund have no cap on fees. Around 1.3 million Child Trust Funds (0.3 million stocks and shares accounts and 1.0 million cash deposit accounts) are not subject to the cap …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's observation on uncapped CTF fees but states that providers have the lead responsibility for terms and conditions, which are industry matters. HMRC will encourage providers via a working group to adhere to their responsibilities …
HM Treasury
11 Conclusion Sixty-Seventh Report - Child Trust Funds Deferred

We heard that only four providers, out of around 55 in total, have been proactive...

We heard that only four providers, out of around 55 in total, have been proactive and voluntarily worked in partnership with the Tracing Group—a commercial service for tracing the owners of dormant accounts—to set up a Child Trust Fund register separate to the one held by HMRC. The register contains …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee's observation regarding provider proactivity in tracing accounts but states that CTF providers have the lead responsibility for tracing. HMRC will continue to encourage providers through a working group to adhere to their responsibilities under …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
18 May 2023 Anthony Walker · The Share Foundation, Emily Antcliffe · HMRC, Gavin Oldham · The Share Foundation, Jim Harra CB · HM Revenue and Customs View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
19 Jun 2023 — Correspondence from Jim Harra, Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary, H…