Tax-free junior Isa to be launched

The Treasury yesterday confirmed the launch of a tax-free "junior" Individual Savings Account (Isa), to replace the previous Labour government's Child Trust Fund (CTF). The new plan will allow parents to save for a child's future but will not benefit from state funding like the CTF, which was axed as part of attempts to bring the budget deficit under control.

The junior Isa will have many similarities to existing tax-free Isas for adults, in that investments will be available in cash or stocks and shares and annual contributions will be subject to to a cap. Funds placed in the account will be owned by the child and will be locked in until the child reaches adulthood.

The accounts will be available from the autumn of 2011 but eligibility will be back-dated, to ensure that no child born after the end of CTF eligibility will miss out on the chance to have one of the accounts.