Share Sounds. from Thought for the Week related to Financial Education

With the '50% matured' stage for Child Trust Funds being reached at the end of October, The Share Foundation hopes the Chancellor will announce introduction of its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' plan in the Budget. This would immediately release c. £250 million of accounts to low-income young adults. Meanwhile The Share Foundation's pre-launch announcement of its forthcoming 'Stepping Forward — Performing Arts for Life' course also caught the eye of BBC news with their webpage article of this major life skills initiative for young people in care, building on the success of its Stepladder Plus course. Background music: 'Hopeful Freedom' by Asher Fulero Image source: Particle6

UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson describes our current system for financing higher education as 'the worst of all worlds', and she's right. The combination of loan funding and universality has generated chronic problems for both students and universities. We need to apply inter-generational logic to address both this problem and the challenges faced by other disadvantaged young people from low-income backgrounds. The Times placed this story on its front page last Saturday, and re-introduction of maintenance grants for these young people will be part of the solution: this issue will clearly get some focus in the UK Budget on 30th October. Hopefully it will also include those other areas where focused help is needed for disadvantaged young people, including starter capital accounts and incentivised learning, with funding to be drawn from IHT receipts. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads

The oldest recipient of a Child Trust Fund turned 22 on Sunday 1st September, but the great majority of those allocated by HMRC (due to no action by the young person's parents by their 1st birthday) are unclaimed. This is the story of Joe, who really needs his money to get started in adult life — but he doesn't know anything about his good fortune. The Share Foundation has already enabled over 60,000 young people to claim their accounts, but that's a drop in the ocean compared to the huge number of accounts lying dormant with account providers. So The Share Foundation is now asking Government to implement its 'Default Withdrawal at 21' proposal for HMRC-allocated accounts. Background music: 'Missing Persons' by Jeremy Blake

It's been a long wait for summer this year, and we need to search for glimmers of hope as we approach the new political/economic/academic year. One such is the significant rise in Maths 'A' level entries, which will help young people find good careers. Another is the 0.25% reduction in interest rates: a cautious and close-run decision in times of considerable turbulence. Real interest rates are still 3%, so there's a long way to go. If the current rash of street riots allow it, we need to use the few weeks of summer calm to reflect on the big issues holding us back, including how to achieve a world without poverty. Background music: 'Solar Power' by Ashley Shadow

David Willetts set out the challenge of inter-generational injustice 14 years ago in his book, 'The Pinch': but the problems have got worse, not better, during that same period of Conservative government. Young people face huge problems as a result of a fiscal environment structured to benefit older people, student debt, asset prices inflated by prolonged low interest rates — and then the pandemic: not to speak of demographic dislocations as a result of migration. Government finances may indeed require a complete overhaul, but it needs to be done in combination with resolving inter-generational injustice. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads

Individual achievement is recognised in many walks of life, and that recognition spurs people on to achieve even greater things. With education, good exam results and university entrance are celebrated, but this doesn't do much for those who find it difficult to get started in the first place. That's why The Share Foundation's introduction of incentivised learning is so important for young people in care, achieving an attitudinal transformation as they progress through the six-step Stepladder course. We need acceptance of incentivised learning to break the cycle of deprivation. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins

The core of the problem with unclaimed, adult-owned Child Trust Funds (of which there are over £2 billion waiting to be claimed) is with accounts opened by HMRC. That's why The Share Foundation has proposed a 'default withdrawal at 21' process, based on the young person's National Insurance number. Danny Kruger MP took part in the CTF conference in Westminster on Tuesday 5th March, and two weeks later in a Westminster Hall CTF debate, and supported this initiative which could release £1/4 billion each year to help these young and predominantly low-income young adults. Background music: 'Waiting' by Andrew Langdon

As the Party Conference season draws to a close, we check out last week's rather lacklustre Conservative event and add some thoughts to Sunak's agenda for education. Meanwhile, for those more focused on how to invest and still meet the net zero targets, don't miss the Sustain:Social Investing Conference on Saturday 21st October! https://sustain.social Background music: 'Communicator' by Reed Mathis

The scars borne by the younger generation reflect parents under pressure: from relationship breakdown, the demands of work, migration, the cost of living. So we must look intelligently at the journey towards adulthood, responding particularly to the call for reason, and underpin it with the firm foundation of unconditional love. Background music: 'Generations Away' by Unicorn Heads

Last week Jerome Mayhew MP drew attention to the dire state of financial education in the UK: a recent survey for Parliament suggested that 62% of young people had no recollection of being taught about finance in school. But how can it be given proper recognition among teaching staff when there's no Financial Awareness GCSE? Meanwhile King's College Entrepreneurship Lab has launched an inaugural essay competition for Year 12 and 13 students, designed to encourage UK Sixth Form students to pursue entrepreneurial aspirations and to understand better how to launch an enterprise. Great idea — let's give it the oxygen of publicity! Background music: 'The Plan's Working' by Cooper Cannell.