Do looked after children qualify for the Child Trust Fund?
Yes. As outlined above, CTF accounts are normally linked to an award of Child Benefit. Child Benefit is not normally payable for children while they are being looked after so the previous UK Government put in place regulations to ensure that looked after children do not miss out. If a Child Benefit award is made for a child before they become looked after then they will be eligible for a CTF account in the usual way, ie a CTF voucher will have been sent to the Child Benefit claimant. But where a child goes into care without a Child Benefit award or where there is no one appropriate with parental responsibility, and would otherwise be eligible for the CTF, HM Revenue & Customs will open a CTF account for the child. Low-income families whose children are born after 1 August 2010, and looked after children born after 1 August 2010, are entitled to receive at birth a higher initial payment from the Government of £100.
