Increasing the single-parent child benefit supplement
Act amending section 7 of the Child Benefit Act
The single-parent supplement to child benefit will rise by 4.75 euros per child per month from the beginning of 2018. The increase will improve the livelihood and financial position of single-parent families.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 26 Oct 2017
- Latest event
- 14 Dec 2017
- Votes
- 5
- Speeches
- 34
- Confirmed
- 28 Dec 2017
- Statute
- 1142/2017
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The single-parent supplement under the Child Benefit Act will be increased from 48.55 euros to 53.30 euros per child per calendar month, representing an increase of just under 10 per cent. In addition, technical corrections will be made to the provision.
What it means
The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2018 and affect approximately 102,000 single-parent families (around 163,000 children). The tax-free income of single parents will increase by 4.75 euros per month per child, except for families receiving social assistance, for whom the increase will reduce the amount of social assistance correspondingly. Central government child benefit expenditure will increase by 9.5 million euros per year, but basic social assistance expenditure for the state and municipalities will decrease by a total of around 1.6 million euros.
How Parliament voted
The act ultimately passed without a vote: no MP proposed rejecting it in the final reading. The votes concerned details of the act.
Lausumaehdotus 1, mietintö / Pekonen
Yes won by 94–85.
Government yes, opposition no. 20 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. The seating plan at the time of this vote is not archived, so MPs are grouped by party in indicative seats.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 28 Dec 2017.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
34 speeches · 3 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed the increase in the single-parent supplement to child benefit, which all parliamentary groups considered a step in the right direction in itself. However, the opposition considered the increase insufficient and pointed out that the abolition of the child tax deduction and the fact that child benefit is taken into account in social assistance would erase the benefits of the increase for the poorest families. The government parties defended the proposal as targeted support in a difficult economic situation and emphasised the importance of employment for the livelihood of families with children.
- Does the proposed increase sufficiently compensate for the abolition of the child tax deduction?
- Should the impact of child benefit on social assistance be removed so that the increase would also benefit the poorest?
- Is the overall impact of the family policy decisions made by the Government positive or negative for families with children?
- National Coalition PartyIn favour
Raising the single-parent supplement targets support at the most vulnerable families in a tight economic situation.
”Lapsilisän yksinhuoltajakorotuksen tason nostaminen 53 euroon ja 30 senttiin on erittäin tervetullut.”
— Sari Sarkomaa - Centre PartyIn favour
The increase is a welcome improvement for families in a difficult situation, but in the long term the key factor for families' livelihood is improving employment.
”Tämä lapsilisäuudistus tältä osin on erittäin hyvä.”
— Hannu Hoskonen - Finns PartyIn favour with reservations
The direction of the increase is right, but it should be considerably larger to compensate for the loss of income caused by the abolition of the child deduction.
”Hallituksen esitys ja suunta on toki hyvä, mutta me perussuomalaiset haluamme kohdistaa vielä enemmän yksinhuoltajille sitä resurssia, kipeästi kaipaamaa resurssia, mitä he tarvitsevat.”
— Arja Juvonen - Social DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The increase for single parents is necessary, but as a marginal adjustment it is not enough to repair the losses caused by other cuts and the abolition of the child deduction.
”Korotus yksinhuoltajille on tarpeellinen mutta ei kuitenkaan poista yksinhuoltajaperheiden tiukkaa taloustilannetta.”
— Kristiina Salonen - Left AllianceIn favour with reservations
The increase is considered positive in itself, but it is insufficient and does not help the poorest families, because child benefit reduces social assistance.
”Jotta yksinhuoltajakorotuksella olisi aidosti toimeentuloa parantava vaikutus, tulisi korotuksen olla selvästikin tätä esitystä suurempi.”
— Aino-Kaisa Pekonen - Swedish People's PartyIn favour with reservations
The increase is commendable, but its effectiveness remains inadequate as long as child benefit reduces last-resort social assistance.
”Kysymys ei ole maan taloudesta, vaan kysymys on siitä, että kun me päätämme nostaa lapsilisiä tai korottaa yksinhuoltajakorotusta, niin sen pitäisi kohdistua ainakin niille kaikkein köyhimmille.”
— Eva Biaudet - Christian DemocratsIn favour with reservations
The proposed increase is small and not enough to compensate for the abolition of the child tax deduction, meaning that the income of many families will in practice deteriorate.
”Hallituksen 5 euroa kuussa yksihuoltajalle tarkoittaa nelilapsisessa perheessä 240 euroa vuodessa lisää, kun siltä samalla viedään lapsivähennyksen muodossa 400 euroa.”
— Peter Östman
This digest was generated by AI from 34 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu päättyi. Asia lähetettiin sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokuntaan.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 26 Oct 2017Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö
- 7 Nov 2017Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 30 Nov 2017Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunta
- 8 Dec 2017Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 12 Dec 2017Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 13 Dec 2017Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki lapsilisälain 7 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 1142/2017 · 28 Dec 2017
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki lapsilisälain 7 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan lapsilisälain (796/1992) 7 §:n 3 ja 4 momentti, sellaisina kuin ne ovat laissa 1111/2014, seuraavasti:
7 §Lapsilisän määrä
Yksinhuoltajan lapsesta lapsilisä maksetaan korotettuna 53,30 eurolla kalenterikuukaudessa. Yksinhuoltajalla tässä laissa tarkoitetaan lapsilisän nostamiseen oikeutettua henkilöä, joka ei lapsilisän maksukuukauden alkaessa ole avioliitossa tai joka ennen maksukuukauden alkua on muuttanut puolisostaan erilleen yhteiselämän lopettamiseksi. Yksinhuoltajana ei kuitenkaan pidetä henkilöä, joka avioliittoa solmimatta jatkuvasti elää yhteisessä taloudessa avioliitonomaisissa olosuhteissa toisen henkilön kanssa.
Jos lapsi on 11 §:n 1 momentissa tarkoitetulla tavalla laitos- tai perhehoidossa ja lapsilisä maksetaan kunnalle taikka jos lapsilisä 12 §:n 1 momentin nojalla maksetaan lapselle itselleen, lapsilisä on 94,88 euroa kalenterikuukaudessa. Yksinhuoltajan lapsesta lapsilisä kuitenkin maksetaan korotettuna 53,30 eurolla kalenterikuukaudessa.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 2 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.