Question
I congratulate the Minister on her announcement, which will enable over 120,000 young people who lack capacity to access their child trust funds. That will make a huge difference to them. As she is aware, there are an estimated 800,000 unclaimed child trust funds, worth approximately £1.3 billion. What steps is she taking to enable those young people, who often are unaware of the existence of those funds, to access them? Will she work with the Share Foundation to find a long-term solution?
Answer
I will. I thank my hon. Friend again for the work he has done in this area. We are working with the Share Foundation as well as other industry partners. We have also set up a child trust fund taskforce to improve tracing and to customise communication and engagement, all with the aim of putting more young people in touch with their child trust funds.
Verdict: AMBER (70/100)
The reply directly answers the first part of the question by describing a child trust fund taskforce set up to improve tracing and tailor outreach so more young people learn about and claim their funds. It also answers the second part affirmatively: the Minister says they will work with the Share Foundation and other industry partners, and that this work is already under way. However, the reply does not address the question's request for a long-term solution, so a member of the public would likely need to ask about that element separately.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the department is doing to enable young people with unclaimed child trust funds, who are often unaware of them, to access those funds. | Addressed | Direct | The reply names a concrete mechanism, a child trust fund taskforce, whose stated purpose is to improve tracing and tailor communication and engagement so more young people learn about and claim their funds. This describes what the department is doing about young people who are unaware of their funds. |
| Whether the Minister will work with the Share Foundation to find a long-term solution for unclaimed child trust funds. | Addressed | Direct | "I will" answers the 'will the Minister work with' question affirmatively, and the reply confirms that the department is already working with the Share Foundation and other industry partners. The reply does not explicitly address the 'long-term solution' qualifier, which is a minor gap. |