(no subject)

From Iain Martin’s blog on the WSJ:

Child benefit is paid to the mother. She is under no legal obligation to tell the father that she receives it. The Treasury confirms this. It is her benefit. The father’s tax status is irrelevant. If a mother claims it there is nothing forcing her to flag up to the taxman that her husband earns above the level that Osborne stipulates should mean no child benefit.

A mother fills out the form for Child Benefit when her child is born, and then the money is paid until her offspring hits 19. If it wants to proceed, the government will have to scrap that simple universal system of payment and try to construct a mechanism that keeps track of what millions of mothers’ partners are earning.

This is what is causing Thick of It-style panic in the Treasury and HMRC. I hear that ministers are considering (and tell me which part of the rest of this sentence might provide cause for concern) “a new government database” to try and match up mothers with their partners.

Thanks for clearing that up

Baroness Prashar: Language—that is, speaking, listening, comprehension and vocabulary—is learnt through interaction with adults.