Recommendation 7

HMRC told us that some young people may have consciously chosen not to claim their savings yet, but The Share Foundation told us that accounts typically go unclaimed because the young person does not know that the money is there and the account provider does not have their current address.9 Providers are experiencing difficulties contacting many account holders.10 HMRC has increased its communications since 2018. In 2020, it ran a social media communications campaign that led to peaks in enquiries. It also issued press notices in September 2021, prompting a feature on the Martin Lewis Show, and in October 2022, prompting 82 press articles and an eight-fold increase in queries to its ‘Find My CTF’ service. However, HMRC acknowledges Child Trust Fund account holders are not its usual audience, and that there are lessons to be learnt on how government communicates with disengaged groups.11 Providers’ charges and stewardship of the accounts