Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of unique search requests for child trust funds which have been entered to date by young people aged 16 to 21 into the Government Gateway and which have resulted in successful linkage to their accounts.

For the tax years 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 HMRC replied, in total, to over 157,000 requests to trace Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts. HMRC does not hold data on how many of those who made the request successfully linked to their CTF accounts. Some may be below 18 and seeking to trace their account in anticipation of account maturity. Others may have traced the account but decided not to access it at that point, withdrawn their CTF savings or may have transferred the savings to an ISA or other type of current or savings account. (HL2166)

Primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their registered contact (usually a parent) lies with the CTF account providers. The government is committed to helping people identify and access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their matured CTFs.

HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to raise awareness of CTFs amongst young people. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.

The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.