To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many children are eligible for child trust fund contributions; and how many trust funds have received contributions in each parliamentary constituency. (106208)

All children who live in the UK and were born on or after 1 September 2002 are eligible for a Child Trust Fund account so long as they receive child benefit and are not subject to any immigration controls. This is around 680,000 children every year.

Children in families receiving child tax credit, with a household income not greater than the child tax credit threshold of £14,155 for 2006-07, will receive an additional Government payment of £250 when the Child Trust Fund account is opened, and again at age seven when a further payment of £250 is made to all children. This applies to around a third of all eligible children.

Information on contributions to Child Trust Fund accounts will be available next year.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to families in (a) England, (b) each English region and (c) each London local authority area; and what percentage of the vouchers issued have been used to open accounts in each case. (107015)

The latest set of Child Trust Fund statistics showing UK-wide information was published byHM Revenue and Customs on 29 September at www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_trust_funds/child-trust-funds.htm—these show that over 75 per cent. of parents are using their child’s voucher to open a Child Trust Fund account.

Child Trust Fund information on take up at constituency level will be available early next year.