Basic child protection could come in stages
Will Family Minister Paus have to swallow the next toad? Having already received significantly less money for the basic child benefit than planned, the start date is now apparently also wavering. According to a report, the minister is examining whether the payments should be introduced in stages.
According to a press report, Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus is reviewing her timetable for the start of the basic child insurance scheme. The corresponding law should "come into force on January 1, 2025", the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported from an internal government paper. However, the government is now examining "whether and, if so, how (...) adjustments to this date are necessary". For example, a "gradual introduction of basic child protection" is being examined.
The Federal Employment Agency (BA) recently declared the planned start date of January 1, 2025 to be unfeasible. According to the agency, the earliest possible start date is the beginning of July 2025 for financial, technical and organizational reasons.
The federal states also rejected parts of the reform for fear of duplicating administrative structures. The law on the introduction of the basic child insurance is subject to approval in the chamber of the federal states.
From 2025 onwards, the basic child insurance is intended to bundle existing benefits such as child benefit, benefits from the citizen's allowance for children or the child supplement for poorer families and simplify the application process. The government wants to combat child poverty more effectively by increasing benefits and making the state responsible for providing them.
Criticism of the "family service"
The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" went on to report that the family minister is now apparently also meeting critics on other points. For example, local authority associations had criticized the fact that families who receive citizen's allowance would in future also have to contact the "family service" planned for the basic child benefit in order to receive help. The federal government now wants to explicitly examine whether parents in need could in future also apply for the basic child benefit through the job centers, which pay out the citizen's allowance anyway, the report said.
According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, possible changes to the timetable could also alleviate problems with the 2025 budget. An initial 2.4 billion euros have been budgeted for the project. However, Finance Minister Christian Lindner had also called for savings measures in social spending due to the budget bottlenecks. With a later or phased introduction, the costs could fall in the introduction year 2025.
According to current plans, costs are set to rise to around six billion euros by 2028. It is still unclear to what extent these costs would grow more slowly if the scheme were introduced later.
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In light of budgetary concerns, Finance Minister Christian Lindner has suggested exploring savings measures in social spending, including possibly altering the timeline or implementing basic child protection in stages. This view aligns with the Family Minister Lisa Paus's consideration of a phased introduction of the basic child insurance scheme due to technical and organizational challenges.
Source: www.ntv.de
