The Flemish Government's cuts are hitting families hard: the parents of 1.1 million children will not receive their school bonus this week, according to Het Nieuwsblad. Only those on the lowest incomes are still entitled to it.
The school bonus was a payment that everyone receiving a "growth package" – formerly known as child benefit – automatically had credited to their account every August. However, it is now being scrapped for most children.
The change hasn't come out of the blue. It was one of the cost-cutting measures that the Flemish Government included in the budget last September. Other changes include an increase in healthcare contributions and the scrapping of the frigobon and renovation grants for higher-income households.
However, it is only now that it has become clear exactly how many children are affected. Only those who, in July this year, received a social allowance on top of their child benefit – some 530,000 children – are still entitled to the school bonus. The Flemish Government estimated that the measure would yield savings of €50 million per year.
"We are only now aware of the exact scale," Katrien Beeusaert, chief executive of the Gezinsbond, the largest independent family organisation in Flanders and Brussels, told Het Nieuwsblad. "And it certainly affects a very large group of 1.1 million children."
The school bonus depends on the child's age: the youngest children receive €23.07; children aged 5 to 11 receive €40.38; children aged 12 to 17 receive €57.68; and those up to 24 receive €69.22. "But for many families, these so-called small amounts do indeed make a big difference," Beeusaert said.
Scrapping the bonus is 'no small matter'
According to the organisation's Family Barometer last year, more than half of families said they struggled to make ends meet during the expensive month of September. 37% of parents have to really juggle their finances, and one in seven cannot make ends meet during the first month of the academic year.
"That is also the reason why the school bonus was introduced in the first place. It represented an increase of 20-38% on the basic amount of the growth package. Scrapping that is no small matter. The impact on families should not be underestimated."
Certainly not for families who fall just above the income threshold. "Fixed income thresholds are used to calculate the social allowance," Beeusaert said.
"A family with one or two children and a gross household income of €4,000 is already ineligible for it, and is now also ineligible for the school bonus. Yet many families really do need that extra support."
