Coronavirus: Child Benefit should be used to help families
Academics from the Â׸£ÀûƬ have joined colleagues across the country in calling on the UK Government to provide urgently needed support to families by increasing Child Benefit to £50 per child, per week.
In a letter sent to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, the group of 85 academics, led by London School of Economics (LSE), explain that an increase in Child Benefit would be a simple, efficient and cost-effective way to help families who may be struggling in the current circumstances.
Dr David Beck, Lecturer of Social Policy at the Â׸£ÀûƬ and one of the signatories of the letter, said: “An increase in Child Benefit offers an immediate way in which the government can help struggling families. There is already a High Income Child Benefit Charge in place for people earning over £50,000, meaning the additional money would only be received by those in genuine need.
“Evidence shows that currently Child Benefit only covers around a fifth of the cost of raising a child. An increase to £50 a week would be an appropriate and reasonable step, particularly given the current situation with coronavirus.
“As we come together as a society to protect one another by staying home from work and school, it is so important that people aren’t left with financial concerns on top of everything else. A modest increase, which would be easy for government to administrate, would have a huge impact for families across the country.â€
Other members of the Â׸£ÀûƬ's Social Policy team, Professor Lisa Scullion and Dr Mark Wilding, have also signed the letter.
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