We do not have accurate figures to show how many young people who wish to access a Child Trust Fund at age 18 may lack the mental capacity to make financial decisions for themselves.<\/p>
The MENCAP website states that approximately 2.5% of children in the UK are believed to have a learning disability and consequently we estimate that there may be between 1 and 2% of Child Trust Funds where the account holder may lack capacity to make financial decisions at age 18. This equates to between 63,000 and 126,000 accounts but is a very rough estimate.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4553", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Scott of Bybrook"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-12-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-12-16T12:20:18.683Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-12-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Child Trust Fund"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the number of families in which a child may be unable to manage funds from their Child Trust Fund when they reach the age of 18.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/547", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Wigley"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Wigley"} ], "uin" : "HL11107"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1258399", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1258399/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
To obtain the legal authority to make decisions about a Child Trust Fund on behalf of a young person who lacks the mental capacity to do so for themselves, parents and guardians need to apply to the Court of Protection for an order of the court or register a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to protect vulnerable people.<\/p>
We are working with financial institutions to raise awareness of these processes. They have agreed to provide information on these processes shortly after the account holder\u2019s 16th birthday and again, when the account nears maturity.<\/p>
For parents and guardians that may need to apply to the Court of Protection, they can ask for court fees to be waived when seeking access to a Child Trust Fund. Guidance for applicants has been updated to reflect this.<\/p>
Should court applicants encounter any difficulties whilst completing Court of Protection application forms, they can contact the Court of Protection to request assistance. Contact details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/courts-tribunals/court-of-protection<\/a><\/p> We are also setting up a working group to consider how the Court of Protection application process can be simplified to reduce the burden placed upon the parents and guardians of disabled children.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4553", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Scott of Bybrook"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-12-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-12-16T12:21:01.57Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-12-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Child Trust Fund"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what information, advice and support they plan to offer to families in which a child is unable to manage the funds in their Child Trust Fund when they reach the age of 18.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/547", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Wigley"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Wigley"}
], "uin" : "HL11108"}
], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]}
}