Child trust fund question and advice

[Howdoyoudodoyoudo]

I have recently been reminded of the child trust fund - the one the government set up - by my son as he’s almost 18 . He is autistic , and became fixated on it .

Without telling him I have managed to track it down and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was £1685 in it.

I haven’t told him “ just in case” - if I tell him the amount and I’ve somehow got it wrong , he will be distraught and I don’t know how we would deal with that ( I couldn’t replace it ! ) . I also don’t know how long it takes to get it etc . So I have a few questions if anyone could help .

1. The account is with NatWest . I spoke to them today and found out it was at £1685. I just logged in again and it’s gone up to £1692. Why has it gone up , is it interest ? They said it could go up and down. How likely is it that it will go down now and if so my how much ?
2. My son has PIP and I am his appointee, so the PIP comes to me as I don’t think he can manage the money regularly. However, the CTF money I want him to have and spend it how he wishes . I know if I DONT want it going to him I can apply to have it sent to me instead , that takes time, but if I DO want it to go to him can they decide not to because his PIP comes to me ? I want him to have it as it’s his but I don’t want to get to his 18th and then find out he can’t and I have to apply to have it and it takes ages !

He is fixated on it at the moment . I would love to tell him what he has and end the anxiety but I need to be 100% certain that he will get it and it will be soon after his birthday otherwise I’ll be putting him ( and myself ) through a LOT of stress , this is why I haven’t told him that I have access to the online account.

What would he want to spend it on?

Could you tell him it's £1000? Would he be happy then because it was more?

I'm an appointee for my autistic DS who gets PIP. We've never had a ctf as he was a bit older, but I wouldn't have thought being an appointee would mean the bank could stop the money going to you. Being an appointee is just for DWP benefits, it's not like power of attorney which covers all financial matters. My DS has bank accounts and the bank doesn't know he has an appointee, as it's not relevant to his banking. He has his PIP (and other benefits) paid into his own bank account too - it isn't necessary for it to be paid to you even if you are his appointee, though I can understand you might prefer it that way.

Does he have his own current account? He'll need one in his own name to transfer the money, I think they may not transfer it into your account as it's legally his money.