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29 January 2007
KITTY URGES PARENTS IN BURNLEY TO USE THEIR CHILD TRUST FUND
Kitty is urging parents in Burnley to use their Child Trust Fund vouchers
to ensure their children have savings behind them when they reach 18.
Kitty was speaking during the first-ever Child Trust Fund Week, which runs from January 15th to 20th.
She is calling on parents to use their £250 vouchers to open an account and ask friends and family to get engaged with their child's account to build a nest egg for the child's future.
New figures published this month show that in Burnley, 4,432 Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to parents and 2,883 savings accounts have already been opened by parents themselves. The remaining 1,549 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.
Kitty said:
"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.
"I'm pleased that 2,883 parents in Burnley have already opened an account for their child, but I want to encourage all eligible parents to open an account and get friends, family, grandparents and the whole family
involved."
"I hope to increase awareness as I continue my regular school visits in thearea"
Launching Child Trust Fund Week, Treasury Minister Ed Balls said:
"The Child Trust Fund's success has exceeded our expectations and nearly 2.5 million accounts have now been opened across the country. But working
with Kitty and other MPs, I want to do more to encourage parents, grandparents and whole families to get engaged and make the most of the opportunities the Child Trust Fund presents."
Kitty with Ed Balls
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