Overview

• Laumann, North Rhine-Westphalia’s labour and social minister and a deputy CDU chair, argues a separate child scheme would restore a clearer pay advantage over benefit households.
• He says families should not drop into basic assistance solely because they have children, calling the previous coalition’s child basic security effort poorly executed.
• The proposal targets what he describes as an insufficient wage gap between large benefit households and low earners.
• He voices skepticism about flat housing allowances for recipients, warning mispriced pauschalen could lead to rent arrears and homelessness.
• Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas has signaled a broader Bürgergeld reform with a statutory recalculation of standard needs, as about 5.5 million people receive the benefit, including €563 for single adults and €357–€471 for children.