The Scottish Government has 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 all payments backdated to the point of application.
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.
