Andy Burnham wants to give young people a better future.

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His boldest pledge yet is a devolution agenda, handing responsibility for tackling youth unemployment to local authorities and regional mayors. He’s also considering tax relief to help young people save for a house deposit.

He’s right to look forward and deliver the change young people are asking for, but I would urge Andy Burnham to finish the job on a Labour initiative created 21 years ago that, delivered properly, could immediately unlock hundreds of millions of pounds for young people.

That initiative is Child Trust Funds (CTFs), savings accounts set up by Gordon Brown during his time as Chancellor in 2002, to give every child born in Britain a financial asset to start adult life with, regardless of family income. Around 6.3 million accounts were opened for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011.

Today, 70% of CTFs are owned by young adults - each........

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