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HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is scaling back the marketing budget for the initiative this financial year, with television bearing the brunt.

In 2005/06, the government spent £4.3m on promoting the Child Trust Fund, according to Nielsen Media Research, of which £2.4m went on TV. The 2006/07 budget will be focused on radio and press, which accounted for £1.8m of last year's spend.

Other channels, such as the distribution of leaflets in pharmacies, will be considered, but there are no plans to boost web or direct mail activity.

By the end of February, 2.3m £250 Child Trust Fund vouchers had been issued to parents, but just 64% of them had been invested. Last year several banks and supermarkets offering Child Trust Fund investment products claimed the government was not doing enough to promote it (Marketing, 17 August).

HMRC has no plans to change the agencies on the Child Trust Funds business.

M&C Saatchi is the lead ad agency, while LIDA oversees direct work.