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GODPARENTS SPEND £3 BILLION IN GIFTS

03 December 2004

Savings and investments net £600 million

A whopping £3 billion is spent on christening presents and birthday treats for godchildren each year, according to research by National Savings and Investments (NS&I).

And increasingly savvy godparents are choosing savings and investments to mark birthdays and Christmas, helping children build up a lump sum for the future, whether for their first car or a house deposit.

Generous Brits spend an average of £96 on christening presents, with the largest number (40%) spending around £30.  They are increasingly replacing traditional presents such as jewellery or commemorative plates with savings. Nationally, one in four snap up a financial product for the children in their lives, from savings accounts to Children’s Bonds.

Those in the South East and East Anglia are most likely to help their godchildren save, with one in three choosing to give investments. Londoners are the most frivolous, with almost half (46%) splashing out on toys while the majority of Scots surveyed (39%) are the most likely to pick up something practical such as a pushchair.

Role for the future

While over half the British population (58%) consider godparents an important part of children’s lives, their role has changed. Today most see godparents as a potential legal guardian (35%), a moral guide (22%) or adult friend (21%) with only one in 10 (10%) still linking it to religion. But only 6% think babysitting or buying presents is a godparent’s key role.

Most popular celebrity godparents

New godparents should look to Richard and Judy as their role model, as one in five Brits would choose the couple for their children. The king and queen of talk-show TV inched ahead of glamorous couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston with their down-to-earth caring approach.

Style-conscious Posh and Becks are also in fashion – they came just ahead of celebrity godparent of choice, Elton John as godparents Brits would choose for their children. 

Making the most of your gift

Peter Cornish, NS&I’s head of customer offer said: “Being a godparent has always been a role loaded with responsibility, but increasingly we are seeing godparents getting more involved with helping children save for the future. 

“Relatives and close friends are choosing gifts that children won’t outgrow by investing money in tax-free products such as Children’s Bonus Bonds, Premium Bonds and Index-Linked Savings Certificates.  All three products offer a straightforward and secure way to build serious and long term tax-free investments for children.”

Children’s Bonus Bonds

Since 1 November 2004, parents, grandparents and family friends have been able to invest three times as much tax-free for the children in their lives. NS&I has increased the amount that can be invested in Children’s Bonus Bonds from £1,000 to £3,000 per Issue.

Accessible for those who want to invest as little as £25, Children’s Bonus Bonds are available to buy all year round, making them suitable to give as gifts for any occasion.

Customers can continue investing in them until the child turns 16 and they continue to earn tax-free interest until they turn 21. Each Bond earns a fixed rate of interest for five years and, on the fifth anniversary, a bonus is added. The return is fixed when customers apply for the Bond, so, when they invest, they know exactly what the Bond will be worth at the end of the five year term.

For further information on Children’s Bonus Bonds customers should log on to the National Savings and Investments website at www.nsandi.com or call 0845 964 5000.

ENDS

The National Savings and Investments survey was conducted by TNS via PhoneBus, between 15 – 17 October 2004. The sample size was 1,015 GB adults aged 16+.

Q: how important do you think it is for a child to have a godparent?

	Total	Scotland	N East & Yorks /Humber	N West	Midlands	E Anglia & south east	London	Wales & west
Extremely important	22%	22%	24%	32%	18%	21%	25%	18%
Quite important	36%	42%	33%	34%	37%	35%	32%	43%
Not very important	25%	25%	27%	22%	30%	25%	22%	22%
Not important at all	11%	9%	8%	10%	9%	10%	16%	15%
Don’t know	6%	2%	8%	2%	6%	9%	6%	2%

Q: what do you think is the key role of a godparent?

	Total	Scotland	N East & Yorks /Humber	N West	Midlands	E Anglia & south east	London	Wales & west
Legal guardian if something happens to the parents	35%	38%	32%	38%	41%	35%	26%	36%
Moral guide	22%	19%	20%	22%	19%	24%	25%	23%
Adult friend/mentor	21%	15%	23%	17%	21%	20%	25%	20%
Spiritual guide	10%	18%	12%	10%	8%	9%	8%	8%
A source of extra presents	4%	3%	4%	4%	4%	5%	6%	2%
A free babysitter	2%	2%	2%	2%	1%	1%	1%	3%
No need/ tradition	1%	1%	1%	-	-	2%	2%	1%
Other	1%	-	1%	1%	1%	1%	-	-
Don’t know	5%	5%	5%	5%	5%	4%	7%	7%

Q: what value gift do you think it is appropriate to give a child as a present at birth?

	Total	Scotland	N East & Yorks /Humber	N West	Midlands	E Anglia & south east	London	Wales & west
£1-£10	15%	7%	17%	10%	19%	16%	11%	20%
£11-£50	40%	45%	41%	41%	36%	39%	45%	38%
£51-£100	17%	21%	15%	14%	10%	23%	18%	18%
£101-£500	6%	9%	3%	7%	11%	4%	6%	3%
£501-£1000	1%	-	1%	2%	2%	2%	-	3%
Over £1001	2%	5%	2%	3%	-	1%	2%	-
Don’t know	19%	13%	21%	23%	23%	16%	18%	17%

Q: which of these have you ever bought for a Godchild as a present at birth?

	Total	Scotland	N East & Yorks /Humber	N West	Midlands	E Anglia & south east	London	Wales & west
Clothing	46%	64%	35%	56%	39%	45%	51%	38%
Jewellery	33%	27%	32%	32%	27%	34%	37%	39%
Cash	32%	24%	31%	53%	33%	32%	22%	27%
Toy or doll	31%	30%	26%	35%	32%	29%	46%	20%
Something practical like a baby buggy	29%	39%	26%	35%	30%	28%	24%	25%
Book	27%	27%	20%	28%	20%	32%	37%	24%
Other ornament/picture frame	27%	19%	28%	26%	34%	20%	31%	32%
Commemorative plates, cups etc	26%	51%	19%	29%	27%	24%	17%	23%
A financial product e.g. savings account or bond	23%	16%	21%	23%	19%	32%	15%	23%
Named a star/planted a tree in their name etc	4%	3%	-	6%	3%	10%	-	5%
Other	1%	-	-	2%	1%	4%	1%	-
Don’t know	5%	2%	8%	6%	4%	6%	7%	2%

Q: on average, how much do you spend on presents for your godchild each year?

	Total	Scotland	N East & Yorks /Humber	N West	Midlands	E Anglia & south east	London	Wales & west
Nothing	13%	9%	9%	13%	13%	21%	5%	15%
£1-10	8%	-	7%	8%	10%	8%	6%	11%
£11-50	44%	51%	35%	47%	46%	48%	44%	36%
£51-100	17%	12%	17%	17%	19%	11%	22%	23%
£101-500	11%	18%	23%	7%	6%	6%	18%	5%
£501-1000	-	2%	-	1%	-	-	-	-
Over £1001	1%	3%	-	3%	-	1%	-	-
Don’t know	6%	6%	9%	4%	6%	5%	3%	10%

The population has been estimated using figures from ONS.

Further information on NS&I, including press releases and product information, is available on the website at www.nsandi.com.  For further information and photographs, contact the NS&I media team:

Mark Brooks	020 7348 9301	mark.brooks@nsandi.com
Wendy Franklin	020 7348 9449	wendy.franklin@nsandi.com
Elen Thomas	020 7348 9654	elen.thomas@nsandi.com
Jonathan Akerman	020 7348 9433	jonathan.akerman@nsandi.com
Fax	020 7348 9755
ISDN for interviews	020 7602 4522
Out of hours	All numbers above diverted to staffed mobile phone

Media team
NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.

The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.

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		gareth.headon@nsandi.com
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		iman.asante@nsandi.com
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Out of hours		All numbers above diverted to staffed mobile phones

 

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