Die Kindergrundsicherung hat es am Mittwoch wegen fortbestehender Differenzen der Ampelparteien nicht ins Bundeskabinett geschafft. „Aber das Gesetz ist geeint“, hieß es aus dem Bundesfamilienministerium von Lisa Paus (Grüne). Es gehe jetzt noch um juristische und technische Details. Zwei Punkte wurden genannt: zum einen Ansprüche von Kindern nach dem Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz. Nach den aktuellen Plänen sind diese nicht von der Kindergrundsicherung erfasst. Für Bezieher von Asylleistungen würden sich damit vorübergehend Verschlechterungen ergeben.
Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, led by Hubertus Heil (SPD), initially insisted on including a clause to prevent losses. However, the Federal Ministry of Finance, led by Christian Lindner (FDP), opposed the inclusion of new entitlements in the child basic income. As a result, the clause was removed again. It is now necessary to wait and see how the two ministries reach an agreement. According to reports, the Ministry of Family Affairs itself does not see a need to regulate entitlements under the Asylum Seekers‘ Benefits Act in the child basic income. These are two separate laws.
According to reports, there is still a need for clarification regarding the plan to eliminate the so-called transfer of child benefit with the children’s basic security. This concerns the deduction of child benefit from the needs of parents receiving citizen’s income, if the child benefit is not needed or not fully needed to ensure the child’s minimum subsistence.
„I cannot reword“
Diese Anrechnung soll gestrichen werden, da sie zu einem erheblichen Bürokratieaufwand führen werde, der in keinem Verhältnis zu Kostenersparnissen stehe. Unter den etwa 1,9 Millionen Kindern im Bürgergeldbezug gebe es nur rund 20.000 potentielle Fälle, in denen sich die Frage einer Einkommensanrechnung stelle. Die Ampelparteien seien sich einig, dass die Prüfung in der Kindergrundsicherung wegfallen solle. Doch müsse man sich noch absichern, ob das so machbar sei.
Paus aims to achieve a cabinet decision on child basic security in September. According to the ministry, this would allow them to meet the schedule for the Federal Council’s consideration on November 24. Paus reportedly intends to stick to the planned start date of the reform on January 1, 2025. The Federal Employment Agency (BA), responsible for implementing the child basic security, considers this target date to be „unrealistic“.
Until Tuesday night, there were negotiations between the coalition parties to pass the reform in the cabinet on time. The date of September 13th was mentioned in the draft law, which was sent to the states and associations for comments at the end of August. Since then, there have been various adjustments. However, the basic structure remains the same: The child basic security will consist of the income-independent child guarantee amount (today’s child benefit), the needs-based additional child amount, as well as benefits for education and participation.
Some will benefit from it, while others will suffer.
Für einige Kinder aus Familien mit kleinem oder mittleren Einkommen soll es finanzielle Verbesserungen geben. Einige Familien könnten aber auch weniger Leistungen erhalten. Betroffen seien sehr wenige Fälle von Alleinerziehenden, deren Kinder einen sehr hohen Unterhalt vom anderen Elternteil bekämen.
The child basic income should be a simple, uncomplicated, and citizen-friendly benefit, as Paus always emphasizes. To achieve this, the focus is mainly on digitalization and consultation through future family service centers. However, in all statements, it is criticized that the reform project creates additional bureaucracy. The programmatic slogan of Minister Paus, to transform the „obligation to request“ from citizens into a „obligation to provide“ by the state, was temporarily removed from the draft law but is now intended to be reintroduced.