Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 May 2026
Letter from Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary at HM Revenue and Customs relating to Child Trust Funds Committee recommendation, 15 May 2026
Summary
HMRC Chief Executive John-Paul Marks updates the Public Accounts Committee on progress against two prior recommendations: Child Trust Funds evaluation and tax collection from wealthy individuals. On Child Trust Funds, HMRC is conducting focused research on unclaimed mature accounts rather than full scheme evaluation, with findings expected June 2027. On wealthy taxpayer compliance, HMRC commits to publishing its yield improvement plan by end-2026, delayed from spring 2026 to allow stakeholder consultation and incorporation of other committee recommendations.
Key findings
- HMRC prioritised research on unclaimed Child Trust Fund accounts over wider scheme evaluation, citing competing departmental priorities and potential for actionable evidence to inform future interventions.
- Planned Child Trust Fund research will gather qualitative evidence from 18-24 year-olds to understand awareness gaps, behavioural barriers, and claiming process obstacles; 6-month timeline with committee update June 2027.
- HMRC delayed publication of wealthy taxpayer compliance plan from spring 2026 to end-2026 to conduct external stakeholder engagement with wealth management firms, academics, think tanks, and industry bodies.
- Plan publication will incorporate outcomes from committee's other recommendations, including refreshed population modelling and analysis of wealthy individuals' contribution to tax gap.
- HMRC on track to meet autumn 2026 implementation target for remaining recommendations from the wealthy taxpayers report.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
John-Paul Marks, HM Revenue and Customs, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Public Accounts Committee, Treasury
Notable line
“HMRC will be able to generate actionable evidence which can inform both immediate interventions and any future, wider evaluation of the scheme.”
Key Quotes
“HMRC has re-examined the case for an evaluation of Child Trust Funds in its April 2026 research planning round. On this occasion we have prioritised research to support the practical action HMRC can take to enable as many young people as possible to access their funds.”
“By addressing this issue first, HMRC will be able to generate actionable evidence which can inform both immediate interventions and any future, wider evaluation of the scheme.”
“This research is expected to take 6 months to complete and analyse, therefore we will expect to be able to update the committee on findings in June”
“Ahead of publication we intend to share a draft of the plan and invite comments from a range of external stakeholders who can provide specialist insight into the behaviours, motivations and professional ecosystems of wealthy taxpayers.”
“As a result, and with apologies for the delay, publication of the plan will take place later than originally planned, but no later than the end of”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗