Child Trust Fund: Disability

(asked on 6th September 2023) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to simplify the process for parents of disabled children to access child trust fund accounts when their children turn eighteen.


Answered by
Mike Freer Portrait
Mike Freer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 14th September 2023

Anyone who wishes to manage the finances of a person who lacks the mental capacity to do so for themselves, which includes children turning 18, must have the legal authority to do so. In England and Wales legal authority is obtained by applying to the Court of Protection.

In February the Court of Protection introduced an online process to streamline and speed up processing times for property and affairs applications. This has resulted in decisions for a Court of Protection application being obtained within 8 weeks instead of 24 weeks. We continue to review and revise the process and the court will continue to identify areas to simplify and remove duplication on court forms, including uploading to the online process many of the forms required for a property and affairs applications.

My friend represents Northern Ireland. I cannot comment on the situation there as this responsibility is devolved.

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