Vol. 540 No. 2
60 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if, in the context of the level of child poverty here, he intends establishing a national standard for an adequate income for children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20102/01]
The issue of the establishment of a national standard for an adequate income for children is one which is currently being addressed by the social welfare benchmarking and indexation group which has been established under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. This group, comprising representatives from the social partners and relevant Government Departments, is required under its terms of reference to examine the issues involved in developing a benchmark for adequacy of adult and child social welfare payments, including the implications of adopting a specific approach to the ongoing uprating or indexation of payments.
The group is aiming to conclude its work by end-July 2001, with a view to presenting its final report shortly thereafter.
In the interim, the Deputy will be aware that it has been a priority of this Government to invest heavily in the child benefit scheme as a means of easing the financial burden of rearing children. The very significant increases in child benefit rates provided for in Budget 2001, which raised the level for the first two children by £25 per month and for the third and subsequent children by £30 per month, came into effect last month. Total expenditure on child benefit is now more than £900 million per year. Moreover, this Government is committed to providing for similar increases in the next two budgets, bringing investment in the scheme up to some £1.5 billion in a full year by 2003.
