26 April 2006

Speech by the Economic Secretary, Ivan Lewis at the Child Trust Fund One Year Anniversary

Check against delivery

Opening remarks

1. It’s great to be here today – thank you all for coming, and especially to each of you – our CTF stars! Thanks also to PIMA for organising this one year birthday.

2. I think we’ve done well on this – from Gordon Brown’s launch last January, to going live last April. Now over 110 official CTF providers and distributors, up from 75 at the launch.

Asset based welfare

3. And I really want to recognise that hard work today. So I’m not going to talk for long about the ins and outs of the policy – but I will flag some of the key parts of this story.

4. First, the Child Trust Fund is at the heart of asset based welfare. It helps all families, no matter what their background is – and it makes sure the all our kids get a great start to life.

5. Yes – it is groundbreaking. Yes – it strengthens the saving habit of future generations. And yes – it makes sure that first time in our history every child will have access to a financial asset when they hit 18. It means all of you guys – our CTF stars – will get to choose from lots of things to do when you’ve had your 18th birthday.

Measure of success

6. Let me illustrate this. By the end of February, 72% of the oldest vouchers issued have been used to open an account. That’s nearly 1½ million in total. So I want to thank everyone here who has worked on that.

7. In the Budget, the Chancellor announced more payments on a 7th birthday – which will also help out with financial education in schools.

8. How? By providing a savings and investment account for children to engage with – and a schools money week that links up with the school curriculum.

Child Trust Fund – the impact

9. But you know what? The Child Trust Fund has made a big splash – and I want to celebrate that. It’s transformed the children’s savings market which has responded to the saving needs of older children in exactly the way we hoped for.

10. According to Barclays, ¾ of kids who are too old to be eligible for the CTF will still benefit from the scheme, as parents’ attitudes to savings are changing. Clearly CTF has kick-started a revolution in the way the nation saves for its kids.

Closing remarks

11. So let me end on this – we plan to do more to get the message out to everyone. On top of our successful ad campaign, we’ll continue to build up close links with government and voluntary organisations to get parents to engage with the scheme.

12. But I’m really proud of our achievements. CTF is ground breaking, it is universal, and it is a leader. So this is a first year to be proud of and to celebrate. Let’s look forward to the next.

13. Thank you.