The Scottish Government is encouraging families to make a claim for the Best Start Grant School Age Payment before the 2022/23 application window closes at the end of this month. This one-off payment of £267.65 is aimed towards helping families with the cost of their child starting their first year of primary school.
Parents or guardians who are not in receipt of Scottish Child Payment, but receive Tax Credits and certain benefits, who care for a child born between March 1, 2017 and February 28, 2018 are urged to apply before February 28 or they may miss out on money they are entitled to.
Social Security Scotland advises that if a parent or guardian already gets Scottish Child Payment for a child born between these dates they should receive this payment automatically, unless they opted out of automatic payments so they could have more control around when they receive this money. If someone did opt out of automatic payments, they should put their application in now.
If someone has a child born between March 1, 2017 and February 28, 2018 and they have opted to home school or have deferred their child’s entry to next year they should also apply now as they will no longer be eligible for this payment when the next application window opens on June 1, 2023.
New statistics last week revealed that more than £105.8 million has been paid by Social Security Scotland in the Best Start group of payments - which also includes Pregnancy and Baby Payment and Early Learning Payment.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “If you have a child in the family aged five, or who turns five this month, then you could be eligible for School Age Payment.
“We are making it easier than ever to apply but we still ask people to check and make sure they know what they are entitled to.
“The Best Start Grant payments, which include School Age Payment, were the first three of our five family payments to be introduced.
“To date we’ve provided more than £100 million across these three payments.
“Making these payments automatic, where we have the information to do so, will enable us to get this money to families at key stages in their child’s development and when they may face additional costs.”
What affects whether you can apply
If you are under 18, you do not need to be on any payments or benefits to apply for Best Start Grant.
If you are a parent over 18, you can apply whether you're in work or not, as long as you are getting one of these:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit - this is Working Tax Credit with Child Tax Credit for Best Start Foods
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
You cannot get Best Start Grant if you only get Child Benefit. You must still be getting one of the benefits or payments from this list to be able to get Best Start Grant.
If you're not getting any of these benefits or payments, but have applied for one, you can still apply for Best Start Grant.
People can apply online, by phone, in person or by post. More information can be found at Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods on mygov.scot here or by calling Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222.
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