Tough Choices Inevitable in Any Welfare Reforms
SUGGESTED
Len Shackleton quoted in The Daily Telegraph
Len said:
“Any reform of child support always runs the risk of plunging some groups into serious poverty, but our current system produces perverse incentives and is not a good look politically. It needs to be changed. Having large families should be a personal choice supported by the parents who can afford it and are prepared for the lifestyle. It should not be a choice apparently encouraged by the benefit system.
“There is a case for doubting whether levels of financial support currently on offer have much effect on the birth rate, but it is certain that our current set-up is illogical and confusing. Different eligibility rules and financial cut-offs apply to support for children, for child benefit and for free childcare.
“Perhaps we should be encouraging childless couples to have a child, parents of one child to have two, or parents of two children to have one more. But very large families may not be good for parents or children, and a high proportion of such families are likely to be a continuing heavy burden on the taxpayer.”
Read the full article here.
Len was also quoted in The Daily Mail.