Rosie Winterton

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Doncaster MPs urge parents to use their Child Trust Fund

PHOTOCALL
Child Trust Fund Week
Friday 19 January
10am Sure Start Children’s Centre, Story Book House,
School Walk, Denaby Main

Parents in Doncaster are being urged to use their Child Trust Fund vouchers to ensure their children have savings behind them when they reach 18.

Local MPs Caroline Flint, Rosie Winterton, Jeff Ennis and Ed Miliband are backing the first-ever Child Trust Fund Week, which runs from January 15th to 20th.

Said Caroline Flint:  “We are calling on Doncaster parents to use their £250 vouchers to open an account and to ask aunts, uncles, grandparent and friends of the family to support their child’s account at birthdays or Christmas to build a nest egg for the future.”

Said Rt Hon Rosie Winterton: “The Child Trust Fund is a great way of saving for a child’s future. All parents with children born since September 2002 will have received a £250 voucher to get an account started. The Government will add an extra £250 for families on lower incomes, and there will be further top-ups when children reach the age of 7. 

Said Jeff:  “The Labour Government has always invested a lot in our children’s future.  Through the Child Trust Fund, they are helping every child grow up with savings to use when they become adults.  We want to encourage all eligible parents to open an account and get the whole family involved.  What better present from friends and family could there be?”

Said Ed Miliband: “The success of the Child Trust Fund has exceeded all expectations.  Nearly 2.5 million accounts have now been opened across the country, with over 13,400 here in Doncaster.  All children in Doncaster should have the best possible start in life. The Child Trust Fund is designed to ensure that every child in Doncaster has assets and wealth.  It is an imaginative way of helping children and their parents save for the future.”

New figures published this month show that across Doncaster over 13,400 Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to parents. 9,640 savings accounts have already been opened by parents themselves. The remaining accounts are still to be opened or will be automatically opened by HM Revenue & Customs if the vouchers are not used after 12 months so that no child loses out.