(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/1450 as amended) (“the principal Regulations”). The main effect of these Regulations is to amend the amount of government contributions payable to the Child Trust Fund accounts of children following (effectively) birth, and to cease any entitlement to contributions when a child becomes age 7. The Regulations also end entitlement to a yearly contribution into Child Trust Fund accounts of disabled children, after 5th April 2011.
For ease of explanation, there are four operative dates (which if Parliamentary approval of the Regulations is not completed before Parliament’s summer recess, are all postponed in parallel):
1st August 2010; when the cessation of age 7 payments takes place (children reaching age 7 on or after that date do not receive an Age 7 payment).
2nd August 2010: when the changes to amounts of birth payments come into effect, mainly for children born on or after that date. However, a period of three months, until 1st November 2010 is provided for children born before 2nd August to become eligible to a Child Trust Fund (and qualify for the earlier, higher, birth payments). Children have to be born and in the United Kingdom before 2nd August 2010 to obtain the higher government contribution. But other conditions, such as when a claim for Child Benefit is made, when a child might go into the care of a local authority, or when immigration controls are lifted, need only be satisfied by 1st November 2010. If these Regulations are only approved after the summer recess, these dates are postponed.
1st November 2010: 3 month “buffer period” (explained in the previous paragraph) ends.
5th April 2011: when the annual payments to Child Trust Funds of disabled children cease.
Regulation 1 provides for citation, commencement and effect and regulations 2 to 5 for the amendments to the principal Regulations.
Regulation 3 amends the amount of birth payments. Paragraph (4) amends the amount of the initial contribution (through the Child Benefit route) to £50, and the amount of the special contribution (through the “looked after child” route) to £100. Paragraph (6) amends the amount of the extra supplementary contribution (to children of lower income families) to £50, with paragraph (8) amending the amount of similar payments made under Regulation 7(10) or (10A) of the principal Regulations.
Regulation 4 revokes regulation 7A of the principal Regulations so that no Age 7 payments will be made where a child attains the age of seven on or after 1st August 2010 (or, if these Regulations are approved after the summer recess, the day after the day the Regulations are made).
Regulation 5 amends regulation 7B of the principal Regulations (which provides for yearly government contributions into Child Trust Fund accounts of disabled or severely disabled children) so that these only apply where an entitlement to disability living allowance arises in the years of assessment 2009/2010 or 2010/2011.
A full and final Impact Assessment has not been provided for this instrument as it has a negligible impact on business and no impact on charities or voluntary bodies.