§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey)My honourable friend the Financial Secretary, Ruth Kelly, has made the following ministerial Statement.
The Government have today laid before Parliament the Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004. The regulations set out further detail of how the child trust fund scheme will work when accounts open in April next year. They also cover the period from January to March 2005 when the first CTF vouchers will be sent to parents. A draft of these regulations was published on 2 February. Many of the regulations are unaltered from those in the draft regulations.
Changes that have been made include the wording of the requirement for providers to offer a stakeholder account. This has been revised to allow more providers to enter the child trust fund market. What is in and out of the charge cap for the stakeholder account has been clarified and the number of means of payment required for the account has been reduced in response to providers' feedback. Regulations relating to the content and timing of annual statements have been amended. The regulations now take into account the reduction in the age, from 16 to 10, at which a child can manage their CTF account.
61WSThe Government have decided to make early access to CTF accounts available to children under 18 years of age who meet the criteria for entitlement to disability living allowance under the special rules arrangements for terminally ill people. Inland Revenue and DWP officials are taking forward work on the operational details. Regulations setting out the detail of access in these circumstances will be made 62WS after the summer, as will regulations providing for the Official Solicitor, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Accountant of Court in Scotland to instruct on the management of CTF accounts for looked-after children for whom there is no one with parental responsibility. Further regulations will also be made for CTF appeals and the corporation tax treatment of CTF insurance business.