Paus still needs time
“Basic child security will be decided in the cabinet in August”
07/04/2023, 12:15 p.m
Family Minister Paus announces that the cabinet will adopt basic child security at the end of August. The two billion that Finance Minister Lindner has planned for this in the budget are only a “note item”.
Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus announced that the Green Ministers will approve the budget planning in the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday. “We had announced a coupling with the basic child security. That was also important to get this discussion moving,” said the Green politician in an interview with RTL and ntv. “Now I have the clear mandate and the clear statement that the entire government is behind the basic child security, and also behind the fact that there will be improvements in performance with the basic child security. And that’s why: Yes, we will approve the budget tomorrow.”
In the financial plan for 2025 by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, two billion euros are currently earmarked for basic child security. For Paus this is just a “note item”. “It is clear that there will be no effective fight against child poverty for two billion euros. That’s why it’s just a note. And I now have the task of actually anchoring performance improvements for basic child security that is also effective against child poverty.”
Paus assured that the law is now being finalized. “And you will then of course find the exact sum, as it should be, in the law at the beginning. The corresponding expected costs of this law are always there. But give me this time.” Paus was confident that the law would be passed quickly. “By the end of August, the law will not only be available, but will be passed in the cabinet.”
Basic child security is provided for in the coalition agreement, but the traffic light government is arguing about the design and financing. Paus had registered a total of twelve billion euros for this from 2025, which Lindner and the FDP consider to be far too much.
“The government has massively expanded the support for families. We will continue to do so,” said Lindner of the “Bild” newspaper. “But at some point the question arises as to whether additional money should go to the schools instead of to the parents’ accounts.” Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for an agreement to be reached by the end of August.
Savings in parental allowance “no highlight”
With a view to the savings in parental allowance, which also met with skepticism in the FDP parliamentary group, Paus said that her department also had to save. The limit for parental allowance is currently EUR 300,000 on annual taxable income for couples and EUR 250,000 for single parents. In the future, only parents with an annual income of up to 150,000 euros should be entitled to parental allowance, Paus confirmed.
“All departments had to make savings in the 2024 budget. My department also has to make savings. And the fact is that 90 percent of my budget is legally bound,” said Paus. “So I had to approach a statutory benefit and had the order from the Federal Minister of Finance to reduce the parental allowance. And in this situation I decided not to reduce the benefit, but then to look: How can I do that reasonably socially balanced?”
According to the family minister, around 60,000 families will probably be affected by the cuts. “That’s the bitter pill, so to speak, that I’ve swallowed. But it was important to me that for those who also need it, the parental allowance is not actually reduced, that the benefit is not reduced, but that I do it in a somewhat socio-political way cushion. For equality, in fact, this is not a highlight,” admitted the Green politician.