Child benefit notes

Tax allowances from 1909: £10 tax allowance for those earning less than £500/annum. But NB most people did not earn enough to pay income tax.

Family Allowance and Child Benefit

Family Allowance introduced 1946. Flat rate 5s/wk, only from 2nd child.
Increased to 8s/wk in Oct 1952.
1956: increased to 10s/wk for 3rd and subsequent child; and max age increased to 18.
1968: increased from 8 to 15 to 18 shillings; and from 10s to 17s and £1.
1975 Increased to £1.50 for each child after the first.
1977-79 child benefit per child replaced family allowance; paid directly to mothers. One parent benefit introduced.
By 1978: £3/week + £2/week for lone-parent families
1979: £4/week + £2.50 for lone parents. Child Tax Allowance abolished.
Uprated with inflation through 80s and 90s with some gaps.
1991 higher rate for first child only.
1998 one parent benefit abolished with some grandfathering.
c. 1999 benefit for first child increased by 25% in real terms.
Rates increased with inflation till 2010. Since then, frozen.
From 2013 higher rate taxpayers no longer got child benefit.
As of 2020: £21/week first child and £14/week subsequent children.

Had to be in employment. Takeup low but increased sharply in 80s and 90s.
In 1984: £23/week for one child + £2 for subsequent children.
Threshold was max income of £90/week. Also a capital threshold (as you remember very well).

1986 became "Family Credit". It was tapered; e.g. in 1997 by 70% above £77.15/week.

Introduced 1988.
Could get if you worked < 16 hours/week, and were a lone parent with a child under 5.
Basically flat since introduction.

Most of our guys were born in 1940-70. Their children, 95% between 1961-1998.