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CHILD BENEFIT IS PAID TO PARENTS TO HELP WITH THE COSTS OF CHILDCARE AND FROM APRIL MUMS AND DADS CAN CLAIM £25.60 PER WEEK FOR THEIR FIRST OR ONLY CHILD AND AN EXTRA £16.95 A WEEK FOR ANY
ADDITIONAL CHILDREN. 14:09, 07 Mar 2024 A Child Benefit claimant has managed to turn £26 into £50,000 thanks to a rule change. Child benefit is paid to parents to help with the costs of
childcare and from April mums and dads can claim £25.60 per week for their first or only child and an extra £16.95 a week for any additional children. Current strict and unfair rules show if
either parent or carer starts earning over £50,000, they have to start paying the high-income child benefit charge. But the threshold will increase to £60k, Jeremy Hunt has confirmed. Sarah
Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "Parenting is getting more rewarding, because from April 6, half a million higher-earning parents are set to lose less of
their child benefit – and 170,000 will have it all reinstated. READ MORE MARTIN LEWIS SAYS 'IT'S A BLOW' AS 'PENALTY' STAYS AFTER JEREMY HUNT'S BUDGET "But
while the £25.60 a week could come in handy if you were to put it into your child’s Junior ISA, it could do so much more." Sarah added: "This sort of sum can make a real
difference, especially to those on lower incomes, but it can also quickly disappear. "If there’s a risk it could end up funding the kind of nice-to-haves that are discarded as quickly
as last season’s ‘Fortnite’ skins, it’s worth considering how much difference it could make if you put it to work." Ms Coles also warned a Junior ISA could be a good idea for some UK
households with children. Article continues below She said: "Over this kind of period, both returns and charges will make a real difference, so it’s worth considering a stocks and
shares ISA rather than a cash ISA, choosing a provider which doesn’t charge for the JISA, and weighing up your investment options carefully.” The yearly limit for the lifetime ISA is £4,000,
while for junior ISAs it is £9,000. The junior ISA limit does not affect your own £20,000 limit, as the money is designed to be invested for your child or grandchild. Off the back of the
Chancellor's Spring Budget statement, Dr Hassaan Khan, Head of Digital Finance at Arden University, says: "The UK economy has been giving us all mixed signals – from signs of
inflation easing, to then throwing us into recession. Some prices have begun to ease, but others – including energy costs – remain stubborn and difficult. Article continues below “We’ve had
warning from the International Monetary Fund that further cuts would require extra borrowing or post-election spending cuts, while simultaneously businesses and people, alike, remain to be
struggling fighting costs. “For this reason, the budget included tax cuts being made in a responsible and sensible way, with hopes that strategic and smart cuts will play a vital role in
growing the economy in the long run. What we need is to transform the labour market to ensure sustained economic growth. The current, narrow focus on economic growth ignores the need to
improve productivity in ‘everyday economy’ sectors such as retail, hospitality, transport, logistics and social care, which employ millions of workers. Broadening innovation and growth plans
to include these everyday economy sectors, which account for at least 40% of overall employment, is crucial for raising overall UK productivity and prosperity. “We hope that 2024 will bring
a stronger focus on supporting employer compliance and raising employment standards overall – boosting the economy back to what it was once before.”