The man who wants to save child trust funds

Shaw says CTFs already fit the bill of what the government is looking for and that their abolition would be a backward step: ‘Parents like the discipline of the money being untouched until their child reaches 18, at which point it can be rolled into an ISA,’ he said.

‘The simplicity is also attractive: it’s in the child’s name, it’s for the child, there are not the trustee complications you get from taking out other savings on behalf of a child.’

The Personal Finance Education Group, which promotes the teaching of personal finance to children in schools, has used child trust funds as a way of getting pupils’ interest.

Petition

Shaw can only hope that a government that promotes the virtues of ‘Big Society’ will see the bigger picture and ditch CTFs because they were a Labour initiative.

‘Just because the child trust fund was the idea of the last government does not mean it was not a good idea. Just because we are seeking savings does not mean it should be killed off altogether,’ he added.

Shaw said: ‘The alliance accepts there is no money to fund vouchers for new parents at present, but we believe very strongly that keeping the CTF open to new parents is a proven way of encouraging saving and will require very little government support.’

The alliance is asking supporters to sign a petition at its www.savechildsavings.org website.

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