Family
Basic child protection: Vogel calls the Paus initiative “absurd”
FDP Federal Vice President Johannes Vogel criticizes the planned basic child support. photo
© Philipp Znidar/dpa
Family Minister Lisa Paus is planning a new office with 5,000 employees to introduce basic child welfare – and speaks of the state’s “obligation to deliver”. The FDP reacts outraged.
The parliamentary managing director of the FDP parliamentary group, Johannes Vogel, has accepted the suggestions from the Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus (Greens) rejected the implementation of the planned basic child security.
“Why the Ministry of Family Affairs has just now repeated the old and absurd demand for 5,000 new jobs seems puzzling,” Vogel told the dpa. Basic child welfare must be about digitalizing processes and reducing bureaucracy rather than building it up, emphasized Vogel, who is also deputy federal chairman of his party.
“Unfortunately, there is no working concept for this to date.” Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and deputy parliamentary group leader Gyde Jensen, among others, had previously expressed their dissatisfaction with Paus’ proposal.
Paus remains in her position
The minister in charge of the controversial project had previously confirmed that she considered the creation of 5,000 jobs in connection with basic child welfare to be correct. Paus had told the “Rheinische Post” and the “General-Anzeiger”: “The additional staff means a reduction in bureaucracy for the citizens. At the moment they are carrying the burden of bureaucracy and have to run from Pontius to Pilate.”
And further: “With the 5,000 positions, we want to move from the citizens’ obligation to collect to the state’s obligation to provide them. We will have significantly more applications than before: Basic child support, if it reaches everyone who needs financial support, can be up to 5.6 Reach millions of children and young people.”
Minister Lindner said on Saturday: “I find the idea that the state has an obligation to pay social benefits disturbing – especially when 5,000 new state employees have to be hired to achieve this.”
This is basic child protection
From 2025 onwards, the basic child security scheme is intended to bundle previous benefits such as child benefit, benefits from citizen’s benefit for children or the child allowance. It is considered the Greens’ prestige socio-political project. The cabinet passed a bill in September with the aim of ensuring that basic child welfare comes into force on January 1, 2025.
The project is currently in the parliamentary process – and is making slow progress. Following concerns from the Federal Employment Agency and the Federal Council, the federal government announced in December that it would review the schedule. Paus was recently optimistic that basic child support would come. “I notice that there are constructive discussions about this in parliament. I am very confident that we will ultimately achieve basic child security.”