The Scottish Government recently announced that from November 14, all children currently in receipt of Scottish Child Payment will have it automatically increased from £20 to £25 per week. Applications for the devolved benefit will also be open to all eligible under-16s from that date - with payments backdated to the point of application.
New statistics released by Social Security Scotland has revealed that the average processing times for new claims increased from 31 working days in March 2022 to 36 in June 2022. This means if you make a new application on November 14, when the eligibility rules change, you could receive your first payment at the start of the new year.
A total of £84 million has already been paid to families since the Scottish Child Payment was introduced less than 18 months ago. The payment of £20 per week for children under the age of six is unique to Scotland and began in February 2021 to directly tackle child poverty by providing regular, additional financial support to parents and carers to help with the costs of caring for a child.
It is estimated that over 400,000 under-16s will be eligible for the regular financial support with the Scottish Fiscal Commission anticipating take-up of the payment for over 300,000 more children across the country.
The current payments of £20 a week currently helps an estimated 104,000 youngsters under the age of six.
Visiting Glasgow based family charity Govan Help earlier this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We are using our social security powers to take immediate steps to put cash in the pockets of families by doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per child – support not replicated anywhere else in the UK.
“This is a key part of our national mission to tackle child poverty. We will further increase this payment to £25 by the end of 2022 – five times the amount campaigners originally asked. This will gives families additional financial support of £1,300 for each eligible child every year. We will back this with investment of around £671 million over the next two years – just part of our package of support for families."
The FM added: “We are determined to give children the best start and a bright future by putting more money into the pockets of those who need it most.
"Increasing the Scottish Child Payment will make a real difference to families and help to build a more equal and fairer Scotland for everyone.”
What is the Scottish Child Payment?
Scottish Child Payment helps towards the costs of supporting your family. It's currently a weekly payment of £20 - rising to £25 from November 14 - that you can get for every child you look after who's under six years of age.
You will get the payment every four weeks if your application is successful.
Scottish Child Payment is part of a wider package of five family payments including:
- Best Start Grant
- Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment
- Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment
- Best Start Grant School Age Payment
- Best Start Foods
Who can apply?
Only one person can get Scottish Child Payment for a child and it does not affect any other UK or Scottish Government benefits that you, or any person in your household, currently get.
You may be able to get Scottish Child Payment if all of the following apply:
- you live in Scotland
- you or your partner are getting certain benefits or payments
- you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who's under six years old
Benefits or payment you or your partner must get
You can apply whether you're in work or not, as long as you're getting one or more of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
How to apply
For full details on claiming the benefit or to make a new claim, you can do it online here.
You can also apply over the phone by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 222.
Find out more about the Scottish Child Payment on mygov.scot here.
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