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.
