Families are being urged to renew child benefit entitlements for young people who remain in schooling or vocational programmes.

Payments cease automatically on August 31 following a young person’s 16th birthday unless guardians inform HMRC of their intention to persist with recognised education or training arrangements.

Approximately 1.5 million notification letters are being dispatched, though HMRC has urged households to act promptly rather than waiting for correspondence.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s chief customer officer, stated that child benefit provides significant financial assistance to families, and those whose teenagers have already decided to continue their studies after GCSEs or National 5s can submit their extension request immediately through the HMRC application or the GOV.UK website.

The payment stands at £27.05 weekly for the first or only child, equating to £1,406.60 annually, with £17.90 weekly allocated for each further child.

During the previous year, 874,000 guardians successfully extended their entitlement, with over half completing the process through digital channels.

The benefit remains available for young people enrolled in full-time non-advanced education or unpaid approved training schemes.

HMRC recommends households consult GOV.UK for approved course listings and utilise the online platform to finalise their extension without delay.