Make Child Benefit a Means Tested Benefit.

[Whatabonkersworld]

So, the Winter Fuel Payment has been made means tested. According to the government older people have no need for any help to pay their winter fuel bill.
In a dose of reality here's another massive cost saving exercise. The annual bill for Child Benefit is something over £12bn. I suggest Child Benefit also become means tested and only parents who receive tax credits are eligible. Those unemployed would receive a stipend added to their universal credit, but would not be eligible for Child Benefit. This would become a strictly working persons benefit. This would save the country a huge amount of money and will hopefully pay for the inevitable pay increase recommendations for the rail workers and consultants which will shortly be coming round for negotiations.
How how does everyone like them Bananas!

What is approved by ‘the majority of voters’ that won’t have been told the whole information about it, isn’t always what is good for the country.

Child benefit is means tested already

It’s nothing about the tories,,it’s about Covid, the war in Ukraine meaning energy costs caps coming out of the national pockets.

Some of it is.

But even with Covid- les measures; PPE tendering didn't need to be run in the Wild West "Cash for cronies" way that it was, the business financing funds were run incredibly badly and enormous amounts were lost to fraud. Rishi's "luncheon vouchers with a twist" caper was expensive and not particularly necessary.

They've been remarkably sloppy.

That’s politics isn’t if? Making decisions that you want and securing enough support to remain credible.

It is.
But that’s not how I understood your comment.
I understood that’s what people want so that’s what we do.
Not we want to that so well ensure the public thinks it’s a great idea.

I’m not suggesting that the money from winter fuel payments goes to children, just that I think both benefits should be means tested.

I thought child benefit was already means tested? I know it never used to be, certainly wasn't when I was receiving it,think it becomes means tested in 2013.

Means testing is very unfair, as it stops people escaping poverty. What's the point in penalising people for saving or getting a better job? It already hits pensioners who have a tiny bit above pension credit level, so miss out on a raft of possible benefits just for putting money into an occupational pension. Means tests just encourage benefit dependency.