Councils get helping hand to provide extra support for children in care

Neath AM and Labour's Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas, revealed today that children under the care of Local Authorities in Wales are to benefit from a further improved Child Trust Fund Reimbursement scheme as a result of additional funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.

Intended to encourage local authorities to contribute to the Child Trust Funds (CTF) of children that they are responsible for - the Assembly Government has agreed to top up payments to local authorities from £50 per year per child to £100 per year per child. In addition, the UK Government has introduced a scheme to top up the CTF accounts of all children looked after in the UK for a year or more since 1 April 2007 by £100 per year per child. WAG has agreed to administer the scheme in Wales and will receive the necessary funding from the UK Government.

The Welsh and UK schemes will be combined and as a consequence Local Authorities in Wales will now be reimbursed to provide children looked after for a year or more since 1 April 2007 with an annual top up of £200 – compared to £100 in the rest of the UK.

Gwenda Thomas said "Child Trust Funds can help play a crucial role in achieving the Assembly Government’s aim of tackling child poverty in Wales. With further improved funding we can build on the success of our Looked After Children Scheme to help boost the savings of children in Wales and improve opportunities later in life. Encouraging a savings culture and helping children learn about finance are crucial if we are to break the vicious circle of child poverty and I’m confident that this announcement will help us reach our goal."

It is estimated that under the revised eligibility criteria 500 children will benefit from the scheme in 2008/09 rising to 640 in 2009/10 and 770 in 2010/11 at a cost to the Welsh Assembly Government of £50,000, £64,000 and £77,000 respectively. The UK Government's contribution will mirror the Welsh Assembly Government’s contribution.