Birth grant for the eldest child only? Council of State sees a possible clash with the constitution
Its opinion on Flemish cuts to the Groeipakket child benefit is sharp; the opposition and the Gezinsbond family organisation are urging the Diependaele government to rethink its plans.
The Council of State is highly critical of the Flemish government's plan to award the birth grant of the Groeipakket child benefit system only for a first child in future. According to the opinion, which VRT NWS was able to see and which De Morgen also reports, the measure does not appear to be in line with the constitutional principle of equality. The Council adds that this assessment was made within the limited time it was given. Whether there really is a problem will only become clear if interested parties bring a case, for example before the Constitutional Court.
The restriction was one of the savings the Diependaele government announced in its latest budget exercise. From a second child onwards, families will no longer receive the birth grant of around 1,310 euros, except in the case of multiple births. According to the Gezinsbond, the rule takes effect on 1 January 2027, and parents who are at least five months and one day pregnant before 31 December 2026 can still apply for a subsequent child. The government expects to save 50 million euros a year, according to Flemish MP Gwendolyn Rutten (Anders).
Rutten had already warned during the debate on the September policy statement that child benefit is a right of the child and that limiting it to the first child could cause legal problems. She tells VRT NWS that the measure must go and that the planned saving is now in doubt, which in her view pushes the Flemish budget even deeper into the red.
The Gezinsbond is asking the Flemish government and parliament to thoroughly revise the plans. According to the organisation, the Council of State also points to risks in other changes to the Groeipakket, such as the lower maximum age, the scrapping of the childcare supplement and a shorter limitation period for applying for supplements. Director general Katrien Beeusaert asks for the birth grant to be kept for every child until there is clarity, and for families to be given a sufficiently long transition period. The lowering of the age limit to 24 has meanwhile been postponed to 1 October 2027.