In September 2002, Gordon Brown and David Blunkett launched the Child Trust Fund scheme. The Labour chancellor claimed it would create a ‘wealth-owning, asset-owning democracy for all’, that would give young people ‘a permanent stake in society’. All eligible children received £250, but those from lower-income families received £500 to ensure they weren’t left behind.

The scheme was closed in 2011 by the coalition government as part of its austerity programme and, for many young people, a ‘permanent stake in society’ is a vision yet to be realised.

Around 780,000 accounts have yet to be accessed, and up to 80,000 of those young people have some form of incapacity, making it even harder for them to claim what is rightfully theirs.

Let’s be clear about what this means. These funds, which amount to £1.6 billion, are not government handouts waiting to be applied for and they are not speculative benefits. They are savings pots that already belong to those young adults.

The average unclaimed Child Trust Fund is worth between £1,000 and £2,000, depending on whether their account was topped up. For some readers, that may sound modest. For a young person (who today would be aged from near enough 15 to 24) trying to pay a deposit on a rented room, buy a laptop for college, cover travel to work, pay for driving lessons or simply get through a difficult month, it can be life-changing.

This issue matters because the young people least likely to know about these accounts are typically those with the weakest family support, the least financial advice and the fewest safety nets. They were babies when the accounts were opened, and perhaps families moved home and letters were missed. Some parents, sadly, never knew the account existed in the first place.

Fix this and the Government can rekindle the vision of giving these young people a better start in life. If the state doesn’t, it will deny help for those who need it most.

We welcome the fact that the Treasury and HMRC have taken further steps to raise awareness, including contacting 21-year-olds whose Child Trust Funds remain unclaimed. That is progress, and ministers deserve credit for recognising the scale of the problem.

But awareness alone will not solve it and in this cost-of-living crisis, it’s not enough.

A letter may not reach the right person and some young adults may not understand what they are due. For example, a family dealing with disability, care needs or financial pressures may not be able to navigate the complicated process.

We are calling on the Government to go further and legislate so that banks and providers are required to reunite this money with its rightful owners.

The principle should be straightforward: if a financial institution holds money for a named young person, and that young person can be identified through existing official records, the burden should not fall on the individual to trace and claim it. The system should work for them, not against them.

There will, of course, be practical questions. Ministers will need to consider data protection, safeguards against fraud and the best route for transferring money securely. These are good reasons for careful legislation, but the use of PAYE and student loans data is now a practical avenue for action.

We already live in an age where government, banks and public bodies can verify identities, trace accounts and move money securely. If the system can pursue people when they owe money, it should be capable of finding them when money is owed to them.

There is also a wider moral point, that these funds were created by public policy and the state encouraged families to believe that their children would benefit from them at adulthood. It cannot now shrug its shoulders when hundreds of thousands of those young people are still missing out.

For a young person beginning adult life in 2026, up to £2,200 can mean dignity, choice and breathing space. It can mean the difference between starting out with a small foundation and starting out with nothing. It could become a training course, a deposit or simply give them the confidence that someone remembered they mattered.

Britain is built on the notion of fairness and being a nation that lives up to its promises. The Child Trust Fund was founded on such a promise and that promise has not expired. It is sitting in bank accounts across the country, waiting to be honoured.

Ministers have made a welcome start. Now they must finish the job.

Lord Walker is the Government’s cost of living champion. Lord Blunkett is a former Labour Cabinet minister.