The Scottish Government has announced that a total of £84 million has 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. As of June 30, 2022, it is estimated that 104,000 children were actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment and 1.4 million payments have now been made.
By the end of this year the payment will increase to £25 per week and extend to include all eligible children under the age of 16 when it is expected that over 400,000 will potentially be eligible. The Scottish Fiscal Commission anticipates take-up of the payment for over 300,000 more children across Scotland.
Responding to the latest official statistics on Scottish Child Payment, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “We are taking a number of urgent actions to address the current cost of living crisis. This includes efforts to maximise financial support to those most in need so that they get all the money they are entitled to.
“The ongoing work to extend eligibility for and increase the value of the Scottish Child Payment is a vital part of these efforts.
“We created our game changing Scottish Child Payment to provide direct financial support to tackle child poverty. Every penny of support is absolutely vital at the moment, which is why we are using our devolved powers and resources to make a difference for as many households as we can.
“We doubled the payment to £20 in April and will increase it to £25 when we extend it to under 16s by the end of the year – a 150% rise in this important benefit which is one of five family benefits we are now delivering.
“The Scottish Government wants to support families during these difficult times.”
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
The Scottish Child Payment, together with the three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, provides families with more than £10,000 by the time their first child turns six and £9,700 for subsequent children.
The Scottish Government has also announced plans to automatically pay the Best Start Grant Early Learning and School Age Payments to parents and carers who already receive Scottish Child Payment when their children become eligible.
The change will be introduced later this year when Scottish Child Payment is extended to under-16s and increased to £25 per child, per week.
Eligible families, and carers can find out more and apply at mygov.scot/beststart or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222.
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