Below is a list of questions that are answered in this section.
Questions
Who can open an account?
Who has parental responsibility for a child?
What happens if there is no one with parental responsibility?
What happens if a child is being looked after by a local authority?
If a child is adopted, can an adoptive parent manage their adopted child’s CTF account?
If a child is fostered, can a foster parent manage the child’s CTF account?
If a child is being looked after by a local authority, who will manage their CTF account?
Can local authorities manage a child’s CTF?
What do the announcements on extra payments for children in care mean?
Answers
Q. Who can open an account?
A. A parent, or someone else with parental responsibility for the child, can open a CTF account. Parental responsibility is a legal term meaning someone with the rights and duties of a parent.
The person who opens the CTF account becomes the ‘registered contact’ and they then manage the account until the child turns 16. They will receive the annual statements from the provider, and they can change the type of CTF account or the provider if they wish.
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Q. Who has parental responsibility for a child?
A. Parents who are married to each other will each have parental responsibility. Where parents are not married the mother will automatically have parental responsibility. The father will have parental responsibility if:
he is registered on the birth certificate or
parents agree by means of a parental responsibility agreement or
a court so orders.
Other individuals who will have parental responsibility will include adoptive parents, a step-parent under a parental responsibility agreement, testamentary or special guardians and a person with whom a child is living under a residence order (under which they take on parental responsibility).
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Q. What happens if there is no one with parental responsibility?
A. There will be someone with parental responsibility for the vast majority of children. In cases where there is no one appropriate with parental responsibility for a looked after child, the local authority will tell HM Revenue & Customs who will open an account for that child. These accounts will be managed by the Official Solicitor in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or the Accountant of Court in Scotland until someone appropriate with parental responsibility is available.
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Q. What happens if a child is being looked after by a local authority?
A. The answer depends upon whether someone has claimed Child Benefit for the child.
If Child Benefit was claimed for the child before the local authority started looking after them, the person who claimed Child Benefit will receive the child’s CTF voucher. Someone who has parental responsibility for the child can then use the voucher to open a CTF account.
If the local authority started to look after the child before a Child Benefit claim was made, HM Revenue & Customs will open an account for the child and will write to a person with parental responsibility for the child. This letter will tell them where the account is and encourage them to take over the management of the account.
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Q. If a child is adopted, can an adoptive parent manage their adopted child’s CTF account?
A. Yes, as long as they have parental responsibility for that child. If the child already has a CTF account at the time they are adopted, the adoptive parents will need to contact the provider to become the registered contact. If they do not know the details of the child’s CTF account (e.g. where the account is held) they should contact the Child Trust Fund Helpline (see contact us button at the top of the page).
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Q. If a child is fostered, can a foster parent manage the child’s CTF account?
A. Foster parents do not normally have parental responsibility for the children they foster, so they will not be able to manage their CTF accounts. In the majority of cases, there will be someone with parental responsibility who will be able to manage those children’s accounts. If not, then the Official Solicitor or Accountant of Court will take on this role.
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Q. If a child is being looked after by a local authority, who will manage their CTF account?
A. In most cases, a parent or someone else with parental responsibility will manage the child’s CTF account.
For the small number of looked after children who do not have someone appropriate with parental responsibility to act for them, the Official Solicitor (for England, Wales or Northern Ireland) or the Accountant of Court (in Scotland) will have the authority to manage their CTF account, until someone appropriate becomes available.
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Q. Can local authorities manage a child’s CTF account?
A. No. Local authorities (and Health and Social Services Trusts in Northern Ireland) cannot manage anyone’s CTF account. They can contribute to a CTF account if they wish, for example at birthdays, Christmas or special occasions.
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Q. What do the announcements on extra payments for children in care mean?
A. The Government announced in October 2006 that it will provide an extra £100 per year for every child who spends the year in care, so that their Child Trust Fund provides a more significant asset as they start adult life.
In Budget 2007 the Chancellor confirmed that following consultation, the scheme will come into effect for children in care from 1 April 2007. Details of how and when these payments will be made will be published later.
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