Paus: “Now we have clarity”
Basic child security is coming this summer
7/4/2023 5:14 am
Basic child security is the Federal Government’s most important socio-political project. The costs have been debated for months, and one thing is clear: it won’t be cheap. The law is to be passed in August, and the Greens see Chancellor Scholz on their side.
In the month-long dispute over the introduction of basic child security, the government coalition has agreed on how to proceed, according to Family Minister Lisa Paus. “Now we have clarity, now there is an agreement,” said the Green politician in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. “Basic child security is coming. At the end of the summer, a law will be passed in the cabinet. And there will actually be improvements in performance,” said Paus. She has Chancellor Olaf Scholz at her side. The coalition is now only about “small things that need to be clarified with each other”.
Paus did not want to comment specifically on the estimated costs, which have been disputed for months. The two billion euros set by Finance Minister Christian Lindner in the financial plan for 2025 are just a “placeholder”. In the end it will probably be a sum between these two and the twelve billion euros she estimates.
The basic child security is intended to bring together services such as child benefit, child citizenship benefit, child allowance and those from the so-called education and participation package. The application process should be clearer and easier. The traffic light coalition had long argued about the financing – especially between the Greens and the FDP. Regarding the agreement, Paus said: “This is the clarity we need so that we can effectively combat child poverty in Germany.” It is unacceptable that every fifth child in Germany grows up in poverty. “We have to put an end to that.”
Scholz wants the draft law by the end of August
The Greens in the Bundestag also see the way clear for basic child security. “Now it’s clear: basic child security will come as a fair and improved benefit for families and children. The chancellor also stands for this central socio-political traffic light project,” said parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann, referring to a letter that Scholz wrote to Paus. A draft agreed within the federal government should be available by the end of August, writes Scholz. The Ministry of Family Affairs should now quickly develop or supplement the new draft law along the key points. Finance Minister Christian Lindner pointed out in the “Bild” newspaper that the government had already massively expanded support for families. “We’re going to continue that. But at some point the question arises as to whether additional money should go to the schools instead of to the parents’ accounts,” said the FDP politician.
In Scholz’s letter, it says that Paus should work out alternatives for possible improvements in performance – including one that only includes the immediate child allowance, as well as various others that recalculate the “socio-cultural subsistence level” for children. The same applies to the lump sum of the education and participation package. It also says that the departmental coordination should be initiated promptly – so that the cabinet can deal with it at the end of August.
Haßelmann said to demands from the FDP to reduce Paus’ plans due to lack of money, the basic child security is more than a digitization project. “It’s also about supporting children and families who are affected by poverty. That means improvements in services will come.”
The Greens budget expert Sven-Christian Kindler explained that the basic child security is one of the most important socio-political reforms of the federal government. “The two billion euros in the financial plan are placeholders. The real costs are higher. Participation and opportunities for children do not come for free.” The design will be crucial.
Michaela Engelmeier, CEO of the Social Association Germany, accused the government of “stinginess” in dealing with children. She told the “Bild” newspaper: “In doing so, we not only harm them, but ultimately also ourselves. Because we are blocking their future and ours.” The joint general association also warned that more money was needed. “With two billion euros more a year, you won’t eliminate child poverty,” said managing director Ulrich Schneider of the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. “The traffic light has to pull itself together to spend significantly more money on basic child security.”