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Child Trust Fund: Mental Capacity

Asked by Claire YoungLiberal DemocratDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 16 April 2026UIN 125917

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of amending the Social Security Administration (Representation) Regulations 1999 to allow appointees to manage child trust funds on behalf of mentally incapable young adults aged 18 and over.

Answered by Sir Stephen Timms

The DWP appointee system gives access to social security benefits only. It does not give access to monies held in Child Trust Funds. Where the owner of the fund is incapable of accessing the funds themselves, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides for how a third party can do that on their behalf, namely, through the Court of Protection.

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