Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, a) when did the department last make a review of staffing adequacy with regard to the Probate Service telephone service and b) when is the next review due.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service flexibly deploys probate staff across administrative work and call handling. Service performance is monitored daily, with resources moved between areas to manage demand and balance call answering with grant production.
Increased demand for probate can mean that waiting times for calls can, during certain periods of the day, be longer than HM Courts & Tribunals aim to provide and the service is reviewing what further steps can be taken to reduce waiting times whilst maintaining grant production levels.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve efficiencies in the probate system specifically pertaining to phone waiting times.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service flexibly deploys probate staff across administrative work and call handling. Service performance is monitored daily, with resources moved between areas to manage demand and balance call answering with grant production.
Increased demand for probate can mean that waiting times for calls can, during certain periods of the day, be longer than HM Courts & Tribunals aim to provide and the service is reviewing what further steps can be taken to reduce waiting times whilst maintaining grant production levels.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Horsham of 6 January 2026.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We apologise for the delay in responding to this letter. As it requires input from multiple government departments, it has not been possible to respond within the usual timeframe. A response is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to question 94597, what information his Department holds on the proportion of the 80,000 families affected by locked Child Trust Funds who will have gained access to those funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information. Capacity to manage financial affairs is decision-specific and cannot be determined simply by reference to any disability or condition a person may have. Capacity can also fluctuate over time.
Using the current legal processes, all Child Trust Funds, where the account holder lacks mental capacity, can be accessed by a parent or carer who obtains legal authority to manage those funds. This can be done by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, without further legislation or guidance, what percentage of the 80,000 families affected by the Locked Child Trust Fund issue does the government expect to be able to access their funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the key legal or administrative obstacles to solving the Locked Child Trust fund issue.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of amending the filtering criteria for DBS checks to automatically exclude sentences of 12 months or under on levels of employment of people with criminal records.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin
The criminal records regime seeks to strike a balance between providing employers with the information they need to make safer recruitment decisions and enabling ex-offenders to rebuild their lives.
We are carefully reviewing the evidence in this area before we consider whether adjustments to the regime are necessary or desirable.
In the meantime, we are working hard to support employment of prison leavers. In January, we launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time bring businesses together with prisons, probation and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders into jobs.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 43737, if she will share the minutes of those meetings with the hon. Member for Horsham and the Child Trust Fund campaign.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Engagement with The Investment and Savings Alliance (TISA) was via an exchange of emails so there are no meeting minutes. The exchanges sought any feedback provided to Child Trust Fund providers by parents or carers about: (i) signposting by TISA to the parent and carers toolkit published by the Ministry of Justice in 2023; and (ii) the additional information sent by providers to account holders since February 2024 with the mandatory account statement at age 16. This provides information about mental capacity and the possible need for a parent or carer to make an application to the Court of Protection. No data was available.
An informal meeting took place with UK Finance in April 2025 to explore whether any data was available in relation to Child Trust Fund withdrawals and the process used. No formal minutes were produced but the note taken by officials records that no data was available.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Minister of State for Courts and Justice will meet with the hon. Member for Horsham to discuss the Child Trust Fund campaign.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As he acknowledged in his letter to me dated 02 March 2025, the Hon. Member for Horsham is aware that I am happy to meet with him regarding locked Child Trust Funds.
My office will be in touch to agree a mutually convenient date.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which organisations within the financial industry her Department has consulted with on locked Child Trust Funds since January 2025.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department continues to engage with financial organisations on the issue of Child Trust Funds where the account holder lacks mental capacity to access their account and legal authority is required to enable a parent or carer to access the funds on their behalf.
Since January 2025, the Department has engaged with The Investment and Savings Alliance (TISA) and UK Finance. The Department has also engaged with a range of stakeholders with interest including One Family and others.