Diakonie President Ulrich Lilie has sharply criticized the statements made by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) on the planned basic child security. “It’s already going in the direction of fake news,” Lilie told the editorial network Germany (Wednesday) with a view to Lindner’s statement that additional billions in transfers for basic child security would not help, because child poverty is often due to the parents’ poor education or employment. “In fact, many of these parents have low-wage jobs,” Lilie said. They need welfare to even make ends meet.
The higher the burden on the parents, the higher the support must be. In the case of existing aid such as the child supplement, however, the application process is so complicated that most eligible families do not take advantage of it, Lilie complained. According to official information, only around 30 percent of those entitled to apply for the child allowance – which has now been increased to up to 250 euros.
“Free, mandatory support courses” needed
The President of the German Teachers’ Association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, does not believe that more money for parents is the best solution. Instead, he pleaded for free, mandatory remedial courses for children with learning deficits, who often also come from socially disadvantaged families, and suggested relaunching the Digital Pact School program to build digital infrastructures in schools. 500 million euros for student laptops have already flowed. “While the money was not fully withdrawn at some schools, it was not enough at other schools, especially in social hotspots,” Meidinger told RND.
In the case of cost-intensive school projects such as school trips, the support for socially disadvantaged children is still insufficient – here, basic child security could theoretically be useful for those affected. “However, I have my doubts as to whether this money really goes 100 percent to the children themselves,” said Meidinger.
From 2025, basic child security is to bundle various services such as child benefit and child supplement. This should mean that more people who are entitled to the payments will receive them – today this is often not the case because families do not know their rights or it is too complicated to apply. Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) also believes that performance increases are necessary. Finance Minister Lindner sees no leeway for this and also doubts the need.
