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Written question asked by Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated) on Friday, 14 November 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Friday, 28 November 2025. It was answered by Baroness Levitt (Labour) on Thursday, 27 November 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.


Child Trust Fund: Disability

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people over 18 years old are not able to access their Child Trust Funds because their parents or guardian have not applied to the Court of Protection to access the funds on their behalf.

Answer

It is not possible to provide the information requested as this data is not held by the Ministry of Justice. This is because a lack of mental capacity cannot be inferred simply from a person’s disability or condition. Capacity is decision-specific and timebound.

Many disabled young adults are able to manage their own finances, including accessing their matured Child Trust Fund (CTF), with appropriate support where needed. An application to the Court of Protection to access a CTF is only required where the account holder lacks mental capacity to make decisions about their property and affairs and does not have an existing court order or court appointed deputy in place. A deputy may be appointed to manage a range of assets, including any CTF, or the court can make a one-off order for CTF access.

The Government recognises that the transition to adulthood can be a challenging time for young disabled people and their families. To support them, guidance has been published on GOV.UK in the form of a toolkit, “Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity”, which raises awareness on the arrangements that they need to have in place.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL11937
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Disability Child trust fund Court of protection
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk