Recommendation 16

HMRC saw its role as setting up of the accounts and transferring government funding into them, which it believes it did effectively.24 The Child Trust Fund scheme’s policy objectives also include helping people understand the benefits of saving and investing; encouraging parents and children to develop the habit of saving and engage with financial institutions; and building on financial education.25 HMRC’s told us it has not particularly had a role in financial education, although it has included information about Child Trust Funds in the materials it provides to its ‘tax ambassadors’, who visit schools to teach young people about tax.26 HMRC has no plans to examine whether the Child Trust Fund scheme has had an impact on financial literacy, and nor does any other part of government. The Share Foundation told us that it believes only about 25% of students leave school saying that they have been adequately prepared in financial awareness. We expressed concern about HMRC’s lack of curiosity about whether the policies it is implementing are working.27