Adoption/Carers Factsheet on the Child Trust Fund - HM Revenue ...

<strong>Adoption</strong> / <strong>Carers</strong> <strong>Factsheet</strong> on the Child Trust Fund
What is the Child Trust Fund?
A Child Trust Fund (CTF) is a long-term tax-free savings account for children.
All children eligible for a CTF account should now have one.
Who was eligible for the Child Trust Fund?
Your child was eligible for a CTF account if:
they were born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011
you were paid Child Benefit for them for at least one day before 4 January
2011
they were living in the UK when Child Benefit was paid
they weren’t subject to any immigration restriction, or these ceased to apply
before 3 April 2011.
There were special arrangements to make sure that looked after children, who did
not have Child Benefit awarded for them, did not miss out.
If your child was looked after by a local council
They were eligible for a CTF account if both the following applied:
they were looked after by a local council before 3 April 2011
they met the other qualifying conditions above (excluding child benefit).
Child Trust Fund Vouchers
Vouchers worth £250 or £50, depending on when your child became entitled, were
issued to Child Benefit claimants to open an account.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) opened an account for your child if one of the
following applied:
the voucher wasn’t used
a local council started to look after your child before you claimed Child
Benefit.

Who manages the Child Trust Fund account?
Only a person with parental responsibility for a child can manage that child’s CTF
account. Once registered with the provider of the account, this person (known as the
‘registered contact’) is the only person that can manage the account and can move
the account or change the type of account.
The child can manage their own account when they turn 16.
An adoptive parent (or a Special Guardian in England and Wales) can manage their
child’s CTF account once they have formal parental responsibility for their child
(usually when the <strong>Adoption</strong> order or Special Guardianship order is made).
The Official Solicitor (in England and Wales and Northern Ireland) or the Accountant
of Court (in Scotland) manages the CTF accounts of those children who have no one
appropriate with parental responsibility. The Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court
assists young people in some legal matters where there is no other suitable person
or agency.
For more information about the role of the Official Solicitor/Accountant of Court as
regards Child Trust Fund accounts visit:
for England and Wales
www.officialsolicitor.gov.uk/functions/child_trust.htm#details
for Northern Ireland
http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/engb/services/childtrustfund/pages/childtrustfund.aspx
for Scotland
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/the-courts/more/the-accountant-of-court/childtrust-funds
Foster parents do not have parental responsibility for their foster child so they cannot
manage that child’s CTF account. If you are a foster parent and want to contribute to
a CTF you should contact the Child Trust Fund Liaison Officer in your local authority
(your social worker should know who this is).
How do I take over the management of a Child Trust Fund account?
You should contact the provider to become the ‘registered contact’ to be able to
manage the account. You will need to prove that you have parental responsibility for
the child – for example, with an adoption certificate.
If the provider informs you that the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court is looking
after the account, then you will need to phone the appropriate office of the Official
Solicitor/Accountant of Court:
Official Solicitor in England and Wales tel: 020 7911 7131
Official Solicitor in Northern Ireland tel: 028 90724734
Accountant of Court in Scotland tel: 013124 678300 or 013124 677742
to become the ‘registered contact’.

Again, you will need to prove that you have parental responsibility for the child.
Once you are the ‘registered contact’, you can move the account to a different
provider or to a different type of account whenever you wish.
An adopted child’s account may have been set up in the child’s previous name, so
you will need to know this name when asking about the account. Once you have
taken over management of the account, you can ask the provider to change the
child’s name on the account and ensure that the correct address details are held.
If you do not have details of your child’s Child Trust Fund account, you can
find out which provider holds the account by writing to:
Child Trust Fund Office
Waterview Park
Mandarin Way
Pattinsons Industrial Estate
Washington
NE38 8QG
Where can I get more information about the Child Trust Fund?
You can visit GOV.UK/child-trust-funds