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News Report Page 11 of 25
Publication Date:-
2025-07-22
 
News reports located on this page = 2.

Child Trust Funds:- "Claim what's yours!"

WERE you born between:- 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011? Did you know you may be entitled to a share of £1.5bn?

Most children born in the UK between:- these dates will have a Child Trust Fund (CTF), but over 780,000 young people are unaware that one day they will be able to claim an average of £2,000.

between:- 2002 and 2011, parents and carers were invited to set up CTFs with a bank or building society and were able to make further deposits into the account following an initial sum paid in by HMRC.

However, if this had not been completed by a child's 1st birthday a CTF was automatically set up by HMRC and often families were not aware that this had been done. About 500,000 so called default CTFs were set up and about half of these were for children from lower income households.

HMRC initially paid in:- £250 to every CTF, or £500 for babies from lower income families, with further payments of:- £250 / £500 made when the child reached its 17th birthday.

Young people can take control of the fund on their sixteenth birthday and can access the funds when they are 18; with the option of taking the funds out or transferring them to an adult ISA.

The 1st young people to have had a CTF set up started turning:- 18, from 1 September 2020, with youngsters born in 2007 reaching that milestone this year. Money remains in the CTF until it is claimed by the young person. It is estimated that over 670,000 young people who are now entitled to access their funds have not done so.

Young people who wish to track down their CTF are also warned not to use claim management firms who take a percentage of the fund when it is located.

Instead, anyone who wants to locate a CTF can easily find out where they are held via:- Gov.UK; The only information required in the young person's National Insurance number and date of birth. Responses are usually supplied by HMRC within three weeks.

CTFs for children in care are managed by The Share Foundation. The Share Foundation can also support any young person to locate a CTF.

Cllr Liz Parsons, Cabinet Member for Children's Social Care, said:- "There are potentially hundreds possibly thousands of young people in Liverpool who are, or soon will be, entitled to access their Child Trust Fund. Even if your family has not paid in any further funds, the interest paid on HMRC's deposits will mean that there is still likely to be a useful sum of money that is waiting to be claimed. If you're not sure which provider holds your fund; please, please go to Gov.UK and request that they check. It's quick and easy and all you need are your National Insurance number and your date of birth. This is YOUR money and we want Liverpool's young people to take advantage of it so please take those few minutes to request a check and also let your friends know that that might have a lost nest egg too!"


School run superheroes to boost cycle lanes and walkways to Schools

PRIMARY School children can now become real life School run superheroes as the Department unveils its new Junior Active Travel Inspectors scheme.

A 1st of its kind initiative, primary School children can now shape their own travel to School, helping all children access safer, greener and more accessible walking and cycling routes to School.

Around 40% of Primary School children and 25% of Secondary School pupils are currently driven to School, and School drop offs account for around 25% of peak morning traffic in London; even more elsewhere around the country.

The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, visited Hollybush Primary School in Hertford to mark the launch of the scheme.

Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said:- "Walking, scooting and cycling to work and School has many benefits, to the economy, to congestion, air quality and physical and mental health. We want to make sure that more children and families can take advantage. We're putting young people at the heart of our Active Travel mission, and delivering this innovative new scheme will help Councils make smarter decisions, improve local infrastructure, and support our Plan for Change by boosting local economies and easing pressure on the NHS."

Each participating School will recruit a team of Junior Active Travel Inspectors, who will work with Teachers and parents to assess local walking and cycling routes around their Schools. They will us this data to identify barriers to healthier journeys and suggest ideas to encourage more active and safer travel to School.

In collaboration with Active Travel England and Modeshift STARS, the Junior Active Travel inspectors will then report on areas for improvement using a bespoke, child-friendly version of ATE's inspection checklist.

The new scheme follows the Government's £616m funding commitment over the next 4 years for active travel in the Spending Review. It is also on top of £300m announced in February, which is expected to deliver to deliver up to 300 miles of new cycle lanes and pavements across England, expected to save 40,000 NHS sick days and deliver £1.4 billion in economic benefits, all as part of the Government's Plan for Change.

Chris Boardman, National Active Travel Commissioner said:- "Around 40% of children are being driven to School and missing out on the higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction that their classmates who walk and cycle to School enjoy. Being a Junior Active Travel Inspector will empower kids to assess their own neighbourhoods, and give them the skills and support they need to work with Councils to make improvements to local streets, which will encourage their classmates to walk, wheel, scoot or cycle to School. An active journey to School can unlock the health benefits for the whole family, and the wider community."

What are your thoughts on this news topic? Email our Newsroom at:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com or send us a message on:- Mastodon, Facebook, or Twitter. Please do let us know as we love to hear your views....

 
      
 
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