New stats show success and importance of child savings
The Save Child Savings Alliance responds to official statistics on the success of the Child Trust Fund and the UK Savings Survey
As statistics released on Tuesday showed that the Child Trust Fund is continuing to successfully encourage child savings, the Save Child Savings Alliance has responded to the release of the UK Quarterly Savings Survey on Wednesday, by HM Treasury's National Savings & Investments.
Commenting on behalf of the Save Child Savings Alliance, Julian Le Grand, Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics, said:
"Encouraging a savings culture among Britain's families is of vital importance if we are serious about tackling debt and borrowing. Rhetoric around building a savings society is commendable but the government must take real action to protect future generations from spiralling debt. The Child Trust Fund, the most successful government savings scheme ever, has made great strides towards increasing the asset base in Britain, helping families to save for the costs they will face as their children make the transition into young adulthood.
"When the emergency budget in June announced that the Child Trust Fund is to be abolished, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility warned that the UK's savings ratio would drop over the next parliamentary term. It is essential that at the very least the structure of the Child Trust Fund is retained to ensure every child has a savings account from birth."
You can read more about the solid evidence that the Child Trust Fund works, and the dangers of removing all policies to encourage child savings here:
http://www.savechildsavings.org/whats-at-stake
