Too many Crawley residents unaware of their child’s trust fund

Young people in Crawley may have a nest egg worth hundreds of pounds thanks to a Labour project abolished by the Tories.

Gordon Brown introduced a children’s fund, kickstarted with £250 from the taxpayer for each child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. The purpose was to set money aside to help the next generation build a housing deposit, fund their education, start a business, or just to learn about saving money.

The Tory Government abolished the scheme in 2011. While some families added to the fund others are unaware that they are entitled to the cash as the Tories did not set up any system to notify young people.

According to public spending watchdog the National Audit Office, around a quarter of funds remain untouched a year after the young person turns 18.

Peter Lamb, the Labour candidate for Crawley, said:

“When the Tories axed the valuable Child Trust Fund they did nothing to make sure that young people would be informed that they might have much needed money in their accounts.

“If you or anyone you know, is turning 18 between now and the beginning of 2029, make sure to track down the money they are owed. In some cases this is a substantial amount of money – up to £1,000.”

Young people who have not yet claimed their trust fund can visit www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund or (if they do not know which provider holds the fund) https://findctf.sharefound.org/.