Families seeking access to small funds belonging to loved ones who lack mental capacity will benefit from a simpler and quicker system, under plans set out by ministers today (16 November 2021).

A new streamlined process would allow withdrawals and payments from cash-based accounts, such as a Child Trust Fund (CTF) or a Junior ISA, up to £2,500 – without the need to get permission from the Court of Protection (CoP).

Currently, if a person lacks mental capacity and as a result cannot manage their finances, a family member or guardian must apply to the Court to manage these funds. This is to protect vulnerable people from fraud or abuse.

However, concerns have been raised that this can be a disproportionately costly and lengthy process to access relatively small amounts of money. The government has therefore today launched a consultation on a new system to ease the administrative burden on families.

The proposed scheme would be run by the financial services sector, for example by banks or building societies and crucially, maintain important safeguards. This could include requiring medical evidence to certify the account holder lacks mental capacity to manage their own financial affairs, verification that funds will be used in the best interests of the account holder and paying money directly to the provider of goods and services as opposed to the applicant. 

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab said:

I’m determined to reduce the obstacles families and guardians face when they are supporting vulnerable people who lack mental capacity.

These plans will make it easier and less stressful to access small funds while maintaining vital safeguards to prevent abuse and fraud.

It is essential that any change is considered carefully and based on evidence. I urge those with an interest to respond to this important consultation.

Under the proposals:

• Payments or withdrawals would be up to a total value of £2,500 over a 6 month period, with the possibility of a single extension if the full value of the account had not been withdrawn.
• An applicant would have to prove their suitability to access the fund on behalf of the individual, rather than it being limited to only family members. For example a guardian.
• Once the maximum £2,500 has been withdrawn from an account no further withdrawals can be made.
• The scheme would be run by financial services firms, such as banks or building societies.
• In cases where longer term management of accounts is needed, families and guardians will be encouraged to consider a deputyship and to apply to the Court of Protection if necessary.

Dan Scorer, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the learning disability charity Mencap, said:

Over the last year families of young people with a learning disability have highlighted the significant barriers and cost faced in accessing Child Trust Fund money for their loved ones. It is welcome action is being taken to consult on proposals for a more proportionate process where small amounts of money are involved.

The complexity of the legal system is a recognised barrier and the aim of a simpler and quicker process, which still has appropriate safeguards, is welcome. We will look carefully at the proposals in the consultation, but changes made must both make it easier for family members to access funds for their loved ones whilst including appropriate safeguards.

The government will consider the response to the consultation and determine whether legislative change is required.

It follows an announcement last year that families who must apply to the Court of Protection to access a CTF could be eligible for a fee remission, and that a working group would consider further improvements to the process. That group consulted stakeholders from a range of sectors, including finance, legal, charity and social care and has informed these proposals.

Notes to editors

• A CTF is a long-term, tax-free savings account for young people. The government launched the CTF scheme in 2005 to provide each eligible child born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 with a financial asset upon reaching adulthood. Parents and guardians received a voucher from the government to deposit in a CTF account, and anyone can pay into the accounts. The money belongs to the young person and they can only take it out when they turn 18.
• Stakeholder engagement has revealed that issues regarding accessing small sums go wider than CTFs, affecting a range of accounts and vulnerable adults.
• The proposals test a range of security measures including:
  • Requiring medical evidence to certify that the account holder lacks mental capacity to manage their own financial affairs.
  • Declaration of spending to confirm that funds will be used in the best interests of the account holder;
  • Money being paid directly to the provider of goods and services as opposed to the applicant directly.
  • Mechanisms for oversight of access and spending, including checks on whether any other person may already be authorised to receive the funds by virtue of acting under a Power of Attorney or by order of the CoP.

The consultation will run for 8 weeks.

To mark the milestone, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Thérèse Coffey is visiting luxury supercar maker McLaren Automotive’s McLaren Production Centre in Woking. The company has taken on its first cohort of young people through Kickstart, with roles on offer including colour and materials design, prototype build technicians, and studio engineering assistants.

Launched as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs, Kickstart has helped young people in all corners of the country to develop new skills, build confidence, and get a crucial first foot on the career ladder, with jobs at a huge range of UK employers including Yorkshire Water, Pinewood Studios, JD Sports, EFL football clubs, and SeaGrown, the UK’s first offshore seaweed farm.

An average of over 3,400 young people started Kickstart jobs each week over the last month, with the scheme recently extended to give even more young people the platform for future career success.

Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, Thérèse Coffey said:

Employers like McLaren Automotive are giving young people the chance to get on the jobs ladder.

Having hit the 100,000 milestone, we are now on the last lap and I encourage employers and young people to take advantage of this opportunity as we head towards the finish line of the great Kickstart Scheme.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said:

Our future success depends on our young people, which is why we introduced the Kickstart Scheme to give them the skills, experience and opportunities they need to reach their full potential.

I’ve seen first-hand how it has transformed people’s lives, so I am proud that 100,000 young people have started Kickstart jobs, with the scheme continuing to help young people into next year as we emerge from the pandemic.

For many young people, the scheme has provided the springboard they needed to secure permanent jobs. One of those is Sunnie Fraser, who secured a full-time role at creative marketing agency Bump following her Kickstart placement.

Sunnie said:

The Kickstart Scheme has been an incredibly monumental experience for me, completing my degree during a pandemic felt hopeless considering the lack of career opportunities in the creative industry, so this was a life changing scheme to be involved in.

During my short time in the role I have now begun managing a team and being involved in all the administrative processes of a small business, developing a skill set that will aid me in future endeavours.

Another success story is Kirsty White, one of the first Kickstarters taken on at The Royal Mint in Pontyclun, Wales. Having impressed during her time on the Kickstart Scheme, Kirsty now works full-time as a Sales and Customer Service advisor in The Royal Mint’s Collector Services division.

Kirsty said:

I was so pleased to find the Kickstart Scheme and be offered a place at The Royal Mint. Entering the world of work was daunting but since starting the job my confidence and customer service skills have soared, and I was delighted to be offered a permanent role after finishing my placement. I wouldn’t be where I am now without the help of my Work Coach and Kickstart.

Kickstart employees at McLaren are among the thousands of young people who have benefitted from employability support delivered by the Prince’s Trust as part of their role.

The Prince’s Trust said:

Being out of work can be an incredibly difficult experience for young people, knocking their confidence and impacting their employment long into the future. At the Prince’s Trust, we are proud to help employers across the UK like McLaren Automotive make the most of the Kickstart Scheme by providing the necessary wraparound support to help thousands of young people excel in their new roles.

Kickstart is giving many young people the boost they need to build their confidence and skills, and we must keep our foot on the pedal to help even more young people find work and get their lives back on track.

Ruth Nic Aoidh, Executive Director of Purchasing, Commercial, Government Affairs & Legal at McLaren Automotive said:

We recognise the importance of getting more young people back into work and are delighted that McLaren Automotive has contributed to the significant 100,000 milestone.

With the support of training provider The Prince’s Trust, we are able to boost young people’s employability skills while giving them in an insight into a range of exciting roles involved in creating and building our supercars.

The Kickstart Scheme provides six-month jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 years old currently claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

Employers have until 17th December to apply to offer positions through the scheme, with young people able to start roles up until 31 March 2022.

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Daljit Singh Dale (49), of Hayes, West London, was appointed the director of Dale Global Limited in March 2011 shortly after the company was incorporated.

Dale Global traded as an alcohol wholesaler and operated out of premises in the Heathrow area. The wholesaler, however, entered into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation in March 2019, triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators established that Daljit Dale failed to ensure that Dale Global Limited submitted accurate returns to the tax authorities and underdeclared liabilities worth just over £604,000.

Further enquiries found that when the wholesaler went into liquidation, the tax authorities claimed more than £757,000 from Dale Global. This included the outstanding tax liabilities, penalties worth just over £115,00 and more than £38,000 worth of interest.

In their undertaking, Daljit Dale did not dispute that they had failed to ensure Dale Global Limited submitted accurate tax returns to the tax authorities.

The alcohol wholesaler’s disqualification starts on 22 November 2021 and means Daljit Dale is banned from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Director of Insolvent Investigations, said:

Much of the public service is funded by the correct amount of taxes being paid. When Daljit Dale failed to properly declare the alcohol wholesaler’s tax liabilities, he not only failed to carry out his director duties but also deprived the public purse.

Daljit Dale failed to take his responsibilities as a director seriously and his 7-year ban means he has been removed from the business environment for a significant amount of time, which should serve as a warning to other rogue directors.

Daljit Singh Dale’s date of birth is February 1972.

Dale Global Limited (Company Reg no. 07546667).

A disqualification order has the effect that without specific permission of a court, a person with a disqualification cannot:

• act as a director of a company
• take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company or limited liability partnership
• be a receiver of a company’s property

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

Contact Press Office

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• Women in Sport, Tommy’s and Imkaan among those receiving grants
• Four heroes helping disadvantaged women receive Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award

Thousands of women and girls will benefit as 14 charities have been confirmed to receive a share of the final round of the Government’s £11.25 million Tampon Tax Fund.

Projects helping victims of domestic abuse, improving postpartum safety and empowering women through physical activity are among those chosen to benefit from the new grants.

The UK-wide grants generated from the VAT on period products, will be directly invested in vital projects tackling issues facing women and girls.

Over the last six years, the Tampon Tax Fund has awarded £79 million, with this final round bringing the total to £90.25 million.

In March last year, the Chancellor announced that following the UK’s departure from the EU on 1st January 2021, the EU 5% VAT charge on period products would be removed, permanently reducing associated costs for these products.

At the same time, the Prime Minister has announced the latest Points of Light awards are being awarded to four individuals who have made exceptional contributions towards helping disadvantaged women and girls, helping to reduce period poverty and improving gender equality.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, said:

I’m delighted that these 14 organisations are receiving grants towards their exceptional projects helping disadvantaged women and girls.

Over the last six years, the UK Government’s Tampon Tax Fund has supported charities right across the UK, and I’m extremely pleased that we were able to use VAT on period products for these important causes.

I’d also like to congratulate Katrina, Molly, Laura and Julia on their very well deserved award, and thank them for their selfless hard work.

Laura Coryton said:

It’s amazing to receive this award as the Tampon Tax Fund comes to an end. The Fund gave a total of £90.25m to female-focused charities – a huge sum for many vital causes. I hope these charities will continue to be supported as they solve many crucial societal issues and I’m so proud to have been part of the Fund’s introduction.

Julia Coryton added:

It’s so brilliant to get this award and the recognition for our work at Sex Ed Matters. This award has inspired us to keep improving Relationships and Sex Education offered in schools.

The Points of Light award winners include Katrina McDonnell, who runs Homeless Period Belfast to alleviate period poverty in the city’s homeless community. Molly Fenton, who runs Love Your Period campaign to reduce stigma and period poverty in schools across Wales will also receive the Prime Minister’s award, while Laura and Julia Coryton, who led the original Stop Taxing Periods campaign and now run social enterprise Sex Ed Matters have all been recognised for their inspirational work through the Prime Minister’s prestigious award.

Laura Coryton’s campaign Stop Taxing Periods, which started as a petition in 2014 and attracted over 320,000 supporters and worldwide attention, led the government to end VAT on period products, and subsequently start the Tampon Tax Fund. Since the success of the campaign, she continues to campaign on gender equality issues, working with her twin sister Julia to improve relationships and sex education through their social enterprise ‘Sex Ed Matters’, which holds workshops in over 56 schools across the UK.

The 14 projects receiving grants through the Tampon Tax Fund are:

• The Big Give Trust’s ‘Women and Girls Match Fund’ – To raise £5m for the Women & Girls sector across England and Scotland through match funding campaigns whilst increasing the resilience, skills and profile of Women & Girls charities. The project will also help to create a long-term philanthropic legacy for giving to Women & Girls organisations.

• Tommy’s ‘Equality in miscarriage and pregnancy care’ – Tommy’s project aims to tackle the unjust miscarriage inequalities facing disadvantaged and underrepresented women across England. By supporting them with personalised advice and empowering them to advocate for their own care, Tommy’s will give these groups equity in access to care, otherwise unavailable, and reduce their risk of miscarriage.

• Women in Sport’s ‘Big Sister’ – To break down entrenched barriers to healthy, happy and active lives through a supportive ecosystem of ‘Big Sister’ peers and coaches mobilising participation in sport for young women and girls. Targeting those areas characterised by deprivation, Women in Sport aim to ensure no one is excluded from the lifelong empowerment of physical activity.

• St Giles Trust’s ‘Women Rising, Enabling Neighbourhoods’ – To enable disadvantaged women to create positive change for themselves and other women in their communities. St Giles Trust will work with local women’s organisations in priority areas to test if a lived experience, Community Champions model at grassroots level has an impact and provides solutions to social, economic, and digital exclusion.

• The Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief’s ‘STEP forward’ – Step Forward will address key barriers to integration specific to women refugees in line with the Home Office’s Integration Framework. Through this holistic, tailored programme, women refugees will be empowered to gain independence, make informed decisions, improve health outcomes, and move towards employment, and a fully integrated life in Britain.

• National Literacy Trust’s ‘Game Changers: Trailblazing Women’ – This project will use the excitement and passion of sport to inspire and motivate excluded girls who have experienced violence and trauma, to develop their communication skills, improve their confidence and resilience, enabling them to make better choices with stronger relationships for safer futures.

• Best Beginnings and White Ribbon Alliance UK’s ‘Safer Beginners’ – Safer Beginnings aims to improve maternity outcomes and the postpartum safety of 70,950 women of whom 13,350 are women from ethnic minority communities in England, Wales and Scotland by 2023, by developing specialist information, services and interventions that enable self-advocacy in maternal safety from obstetric and domestic abuse/violence and FGM/FGC.

• Imkaan’s ‘Margin to Centre’- To deliver onward grants to specialist Black minoritised women’s organisations working to end violence against women and girls. To support their frontline operational and long-term sustainability work in ways that elevates and empowers them through social value-based grant making, considering intersectional needs and social justice aims.

• Trevi ‘South West Women’s Spark Project’ – Prevent women with multiple disadvantages being affected by violence and abuse; ultimately achieving a better-quality life. This will be accomplished through 24/7 support via a wrap-around outreach programme incorporating trauma-informed Assertive Outreach Practitioners, fast-track access to women-only supported accommodation, practical and therapeutic support, and a violence prevention programme in schools.

• AVA (Against Violence and Abuse)’s ‘In Safe Hands’ – The project will ensure that VAWG survivors have access to high quality trauma informed support to help them rebuild their lives after abuse, through supporting specialist women’s organisations to build and demonstrate a consistent, survivor led, holistic trauma informed approach.

• South West Grid for Learning Trust’s ‘Minerva’ – Create a ground-breaking UK wide AI tool for women suffering online abuse, including harmful content and intimate image abuse. Saving lives through linking patterns of online/offline abuse to alert women to imminent danger. Empowering women to seize control, report crimes, have intimate images removed, and access support to rebuild lives.

• Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre’s ‘The FEM Project’ – To pilot an innovative, cross-region approach to increasing accessibility and inclusivity of rape crisis support for 75 women survivors of sexual violence with learning difficulties and/or from BME communities across 7 local authority areas ranging from Central to North East Scotland, with the aim of mainstreaming into core service delivery.

• Welsh Women’s Aid’s ‘Sector Strength Cymru’ – To provide targeted support and open grant giving opportunities for Women’s Aid members across Wales that enable the development, testing and delivery of new high-quality services, activities, approaches, research, or technologies that have the overarching aim of improving the quality of life for women and girls impacted by violence against women.

• Training for Women Network’s ‘The Improve Project’- The project aims to improve the lives of vulnerable, disadvantaged and under-represented women and girls in areas of multiple deprivation across Northern Ireland, through education and skills programmes to improve their capacities and create a sense of safety and belonging.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Quotes from organisations:

Alex Day, Director, The Big Give Trust:

We are delighted to have been awarded the Tampon Tax funding to launch the Women & Girls Match Fund campaign in 2022. Through the project, we aim to support the women & girls sector in England and Scotland through two match funding campaigns whilst increasing the resilience, skills, and profile of these charities.

Our experience tells us that more people give, and people give more when their donations are matched. We are excited to give hundreds of charities working with women & girls the opportunity to benefit from this extraordinary fundraising approach.

We look forward to sharing more details with charities on how they can apply to the campaign in the coming weeks. We would encourage interested charities to register on the Big Give platform to receive updates about the campaign.

Baljit Banga, Executive Director, Imkaan:

Imkaan is grateful for the award of funding from the Tampon Tax Fund. This funding will go towards onward sustainability grants to the specialist by and for Black and minoritised women and girls’ sector. Beyond the allocation, the award recognises the social value of this sector in providing services addressing VAWG and structural inequality through intersectionality. We consider this award to be vital to recovery enabling organisations who have worked around the clock during the global health pandemic to delivery rights-based support.

Alison Baum OBE, CEO and Founder, Best Beginnings:

All of us at Best Beginnings are thrilled that the urgently needed “Safer Beginnings” programme of work has been funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, through the Tampon Tax Fund. The “Safer Beginnings” programme is profoundly collaborative with equity at its core. We look forward to working with the White Ribbon Alliance and the many awesome and diverse grassroots organisations and charities we are partnering with to drive positive change for families now and for future generations.

Kay King, Executive Director, White Ribbon Alliance UK:

White Ribbon Alliance UK welcomes and celebrates this successful outcome. The ‘Safer Beginnings’ programme comes at a time when women and families need services and support in maternity more than ever. We are delighted by the recognition of our strong cohort of delivery partners and excited to begin to deliver work that enables equity, safety and respectful care in ever improving ways.

Paul Anticoni, Chief Executive, The Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief:

World Jewish Relief is absolutely thrilled to have been successful in our application for funding from the Tampon Tax Fund. This critical funding will enable us to address the challenges that refugee women face in their integration journey in the UK. The partnership between World Jewish Relief and DCMS will bring our collective expertise to the benefit of this welcome yet vulnerable client group.

The FEM partnership, Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre:

This partnership pilot project between Moray, Forth Valley and Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centres provides us with a unique opportunity to collaborate together to reduce the barriers that sexual violence survivors from some marginalised communities face in using rape crisis services. Our hope is that the learning from this pilot will help us in our work to be inclusive of all survivors of sexual violence and play our part in eliminating systemic discrimination and inequality.

Hannah Shead, CEO, Trevi:

We are thrilled to be awarded this funding. There have been some high-profile tragedies over the last 12 months that have shone a light on the reality of violence against women and girls. Those of us working in the sector recognise that this is not a new phenomenon. There are no quick fixes or easy answers, but I am delighted to know that this funding will make a difference for women and girls in the South West.

I believe that the impact of this funding will be significantly enhanced by the strength of our partnerships. During the application process, we were able to harness our shared passion and determination to improve outcomes for women and girls. I am so pleased that we can now make our vision a reality.

Rob Owen, CEO, St Giles Trust

We are delighted that the TTF are, once again, supporting St Giles’s work with women, enabling us to use our approach of supporting and training individuals who have been there themselves to offer services reaching those who need them most. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen a sharp rise in the number of women who need support from St Giles to address issues such as poverty, abuse, mental health issues and unemployment. This funding means we can work with women to help them gain the skills and confidence to create positive change for themselves and others.

Ian Daniells, CEO, South West Grid for Learning

The support from the Tampon Tax Fund helps in our mission to ensure that ‘everyone benefits from technology free from harm’. SWGfL enjoys global acclaim in online safety and we want to thank DCMS for acknowledging our expertise and recognising our proposal as innovative and advanced. At a time when we see incidents of harassment and abuse of women online rising, we look forward to building on our existing knowledge to research, test and progress our ability to better protect women from harm online.

Stephanie Hilborne OBE, Chief Executive, Women in Sport

We know that sports can transform lives. Yet for far too many teenage girls sport is missing. Society may not recognise the value of sport to girls but we do. We know it builds resilience and leadership skills as well as physical literacy and happiness.

So we are delighted to be bringing together an incredible consortium of partners to help ensure that girls and young women are no longer excluded from physical activity and sport.

Working alongside Places Leisure/Places Foundation and Hey Girls we will break down the entrenched barriers to healthy, happy and active lives through a supportive ecosystem of ‘Big Sister’ peers and coaches. We will get more young women active in their own community enabling girls to support other girls at a key time in their lives.

Our work will focus on those most in need, whether this be down to low self-esteem and anxiety or financial exclusion. We want every girl to have access to the joy and freedom that exercise brings.

Norma Shearer MBE, Chief Executive, Training for Women Network

Training for Women Network are absolutely delighted to receive £368,750 from the Tampon Tax Fund for ‘The Improve Project’. This project will allow many women to gain leadership skills, improve their confidence, enhancing their communication skills and ultimately providing them with the transferable skills to go on to further or higher education or gain employment whilst taking their rightful place in their communities and in society and contributing to the economic renewal of Northern Ireland.

Sara Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive, Welsh Women’s Aid

We are delighted to be receiving funding from the Tampon Tax Fund. The Sector Strength Cymru project will enable our specialist member services to respond to the needs of survivors, and develop or deliver new high-quality activities and approaches that will improve the quality of life for women and girls impacted by violence against women in Wales.

Jane Brewin, CEO, Tommy’s

Right now, women who come from minority ethnic backgrounds or live in economically deprived areas are more likely to experience a miscarriage – and yet they also face more barriers to access the care that could prevent such a loss, or the support they may need if it happens. These inequalities are unacceptable. We’re absolutely delighted to receive a grant from the Tampon Tax Fund for our ‘Equality in Miscarriage and Pregnancy Care’ project, which aims to tackle this disparity, supporting and empowering some of the most vulnerable women. Like many charities, our fundraising has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, so we’re hugely grateful for this support enabling us to continue our vital work.

Donna Covey CBE, Chief Executive, AVA (Against Violence and Abuse):

This welcome funding will support the development of a trauma-informed model for the specialist women’s sector improving the lives of survivors of violence against women and girls. We know the emotional scars remain after the abuse has stopped. Survivors have also told us that trauma-informed support is the best way to help their recovery. This grant will allow AVA to work with a range of specialist partners to support women to rebuild their lives after violence and abuse. It also means women using life-saving and life-changing services will receive enhanced support that recognises the impact of trauma on their recovery. This project will build on the innovative work already being carried out across the specialist women’s sector, leading to the development of a clear sector-wide understanding of what trauma-informed specialist services and support look and feel like.

Jonathan Douglas, Chief Executive, National Literacy Trust

We’re pleased and delighted that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has chosen to support our Game Changers: Trailblazing Women programme. This initiative seeks to engage young women who have been excluded from school to develop their communication skills and to improve their confidence and resilience. Through sporting and cultural role models this programme aims to inspire these young people to improve their literacy skills, which in turn, can help build their confidence and self-worth to enable them to have better outcomes.

Points of Light awards

1. The Points of Light awards recognise outstanding individual volunteers, people who are making a change in their community and inspiring others.
2. The Prime Minister makes daily announcements of the winners to celebrate, encourage and promote volunteering and the value that it brings to the country.
3. If people know someone who could be a Point of Light they should write to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street.
4. For more information, visit the website: www.pointsoflight.gov.uk