The financing of basic child welfare had already been the subject of months of discussions – now it should be decided. But the project is once again facing problems.
Basic child security is not to be decided in the cabinet today as initially planned. Politically everything is in place, but technical details still need to be clarified, the German Press Agency learned from government circles.
“Zeit” and “The Pioneer” also reported. Contrary to what was announced, Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) was not an interview guest on the ARD “Morgenmagazin”. Basic child welfare was also not included on the list of topics for the Federal Cabinet.
A controversial topic
SPD parliamentary group vice-president Dagmar Schmidt said on Deutschlandfunk this morning that she did not know the exact reasons why the issue was not yet on the cabinet’s agenda. However, it is a very complex and difficult legislative proposal. She would prefer that the Bundestag receive a good and well-thought-out bill so that the same thing as with the heating law doesn’t happen again.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Family Minister Paus had struggled for months about financing basic child welfare. At the end of August, both finally agreed on details for financing the project.
Paus: Basic child protection will be passed in September
Family Minister Lisa Paus was now confident that basic child benefits would be passed in September. “It was always planned to adopt it in September. We will do that,” said the Green politician to the news portal “T-Online”.
“Politically everything is united, it’s about legal and technical details that we’re still clarifying with each other. That’s not unusual with a piece of legislation like this. Ultimately, we’re combining different child-related services into one service,” said Paus.
FDP parliamentary group vice-president Christoph Meyer explained: “It’s about more than just technical details. Two weeks more departmental coordination will not harm the law from Lisa Paus’ family ministry. After all, basic child welfare must not become the next heating law.” The FDP politician emphasized that the draft law must be “clean” before it comes to parliament.
The Left party leader Janine Wissler criticized the further delay in the draft law. This shows where the traffic light coalition sets priorities. Other projects were tackled earlier and more quickly. The current plans are also not sufficient to effectively combat child poverty.
Family Minister Paus’s schedule stipulates that basic child security comes into force in 2025. However, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) does not currently consider the start date at the beginning of 2025 to be feasible.
Significant changes to existing IT programs and interfaces are necessary, and new IT solutions must also be created. However, there is still no “administrative contractual legitimacy” to even begin the work, and in particular there is no financing for it.
Basic child welfare is a bureaucratic monster
According to Bavaria’s Social Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU), the planned basic child security is already a “bureaucratic monster”. The bundling of services is not a real improvement for families, Scharf told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “The current concept is not sustainable for Bavaria,” she made clear.
Scharf called for joint consultations. “The federal states, the districts and the municipalities are massively affected by the restructuring and must be involved in all further steps.” She called plans to recalculate the subsistence minimum for children a bright spot. “Low-income families need more money and not just the anchoring of existing benefits in a new law,” said the Social Affairs Minister.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
