Parents are eligible for hundreds of pounds of financial support, and getting it should be easy.

Cash is available from Child Benefit, the recently introduced Health in Pregnancy Grant, and Child Tax Credits for those with limited income.

Providing advice is Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry and Clare Merrills from HM Revenue & Customs.

The pair will also be looking at Child Trust Fund – the accounts set up by the government to provide a boost to children when they are 18.

Child trust funds start off with £250 – or £500 for low income families – when the child is born and from this September another £250 – or £500 for low income families – will be automatically paid into each child’s fund by the government when they reach their seventh birthday.

Parents, grandparents, godparents, wider family and friends can top up any child’s trust fund by £1,200 per year tax free – providing a nice lump sum to a child just as they head to university or start their first job.