Over GBP6,000 Budget Boost at age 18 for Disabled Children’s Child Trust Funds

June 11th, 2009 LONDON - Dorel (UK) Ltd, the world's biggest manufacturer of nursery and children's products and makers of Maxi-Cosi seats, has responded to today's report - published in the British Medical Journal - which suggests that children should stay in a rear-facing child car seat until the age of four: "There are some pure safety arguments for the benefit of travelling backwards in the event of an accident. This also applies to adults travelling by rail, for example.

May 19th, 2009 LONDON - Budding artists aged three to 12 have the chance to ride in style, in a child car seat customised by themselves. Halfords, the UK leading retailer of travel solutions, has united with the award-winning child car seat manufacturer, Maxi-Cosi, to offer children the chance to design their own car seat cover, and have it made at the company's factory in Holland.

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - With Chancellor Alistair Darling expected to concede in today's budget that the government will fail to recover a significant amount of the GBP60bn bailout funds already spent on UK banks, new research has uncovered concern for the economy has risen by an amazing 463% over the past year, while trust in banks and politicians continues to fall. According to the latest MindReader survey from the world largest media agency network Mindshare, the state of the economy has now become the number one national concern among Britons replacing terrorism as the threat that causes most worry about on a daily basis.

April 13th, 2009 LONDON - A series of free seminars designed to help Independent Financial Advisers support clients with their children's financial futures is being rolled out by leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/). The roadshows are designed to help IFAs discover how the Government's Child Trust Fund scheme can assist their clients with preparing for the expenses they could face when their children reach adulthood.

April 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Fourth Anniversary of Child Trust Fund 'Going Live' Over GBP3.5 billion could have been injected into the UK economy this year if Child Trust Funds (CTFs) had been introduced 18 years ago, according to new calculations released by The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) to mark the fourth anniversary of the scheme going live. The leading Child Trust Fund provider's calculations also show that nearly half of today's 18-year-olds could have received just over GBP9,975 each, based on real stock market performance since 1991 and its customers' savings behaviour today.

March 31st, 2009 LONDON - One Third of Children Under 18 Now Have a Child Trust Fund Leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) welcomes the latest official figures showing parents are still investing for their children's financial futures. Quarterly Child Trust Fund figures released today from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show that, even with the current economic turmoil, nearly three quarters of parents are actively opening Child Trust Funds for their children rather than letting the Government choose where the CTF is invested.

March 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Responding to the announcement by the BBC, that many university chancellors would like to see increases in tuition fees by between GBP5,000 and GBP20,000 a year, leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) Provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) has calculated that families may have to find GBP49,900 if youngsters decide to go to university in 18 years time. David White, Chief Executive of The Children's Mutual comments: "What is clear from the research is that the cost of university is only going to increase, it's just a case of by how much.

March 22nd, 2009 LONDON - SPUC condemns today's attempt by the former health minister, Mrs Patricia Hewitt, to change the law to make it legal to take people abroad to commit suicide. Mrs Hewitt's amendment to the Coroners & Justice Bill is an unwarranted threat to disabled and vulnerable people.

March 16th, 2009 LONDON - Increased University Fees Could Stretch Parents Purse Strings to the Limit - Child Trust Fund Offers Ray of Hope in Meeting Rising Costs The average student debt could be on the verge of smashing the GBP50,000 barrier in 18 years time if tuition fees are allowed to rise to GBP7,000 a year according to leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) Provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/). Responding to today's announcement, by the BBC, that many university chancellors would like to see increases in tuition fees by between GBP5,000 and GBP20,000 a year, The Children's Mutual has calculated that families may have to find GBP49,900 if youngsters decide to go to university in 18 years time.

March 10th, 2009 LONDON - Stubbing out Your 5 a day Habit Could Help you Give Your Child GBP15,500 on Their 18th Birthday. Leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, The Children's Mutual (www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/) is encouraging all parents who decide to give up smoking on No Smoking Day to consider putting the money that they will save towards their children's futures.

July 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Hundreds of handicapped people staged a demonstration at the residence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday against lack of outlay in the budget for their welfare. The protest was organized by a New Delhi-based NGO, the Disabled Rights Group.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday announced two new pension schemes for widows and physically disabled in the interim budget 2009-10. The Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme will provide a pension of Rs.200 to widows in the age group of 40-64, while the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme aims to provide pension to 'severely disabled persons', acting finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his budget speech in parliament.

September 1st, 2009 No charges in disabled Oakland boy's disappearanceOAKLAND, Calif. — Criminal charges will not be filed against an Oakland man who was arrested on suspicion of killing his fiancee's disabled foster child.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Slumdog Millionaire trust has come out to the rescue of the film's child star Rubina Ali by hiring a social worker to look after her. The Jai Ho Trust was established with financial support from the filmmakers to ensure the welfare of the movie's child stars, including Rubina and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.

June 10th, 2009 MUMBAI - The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex surged over 434 points to 15,561.11 at mid-session on Wednesday an almost one-year high, on aggressive buying by funds on expectations that the government will increase public spending in the budget to boost economic growth. There are reasons to believe that the recent strong rally might continue.

September 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A senior member of the Liberal Party of Australia is drawing plans to protect kids from pornography, saying parents who expose their children to explicit material should face criminal charges. Scott Morrison is pushing for changes to the law Down Under after a child protection case surfaced in his Sydney electorate, where a father views blue movies and web videos in front of his kid aged under five.

March 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday accused the successive governments and the mainstream political parties of neglecting disabled citizens. 'Successive governments and mainstream political parties have utterly failed disabled citizens by ignoring and neglecting their issues,' said CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat, while releasing the party's pamphlets for women, Dalits, tribals and disabled here.

July 21st, 2009 Octomom calls for dismissal of child labor lawsuitSANTA ANA, Calif. — Octuplets mother Nadya Suleman wants a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by a child labor activist.

March 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Pleased with the special provisions for handicapped to vote in the upcoming general elections, rights groups Monday said the 2009 Lok Sabha polls have been made disabled friendly. In a Public Interest Litigation before the polls in 2004, Javed Abidi, convenor of the Disabled Rights Group (DRG) wrote to the Chief Justice of India to make the polling process more disabled friendly.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Delhi government to conduct a door-to-door survey to find out children with disabilities and send them to school. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan asked Delhi's Education Secretary to oversee the survey so that no child with disability is deprived of the right to education.