The Scottish Child Payment increased by 100% on Friday, April 1, doubling from £10 per week to £20 - with 104,000 children across Scotland having their payment upped.
The payment, which is unique to Scotland, was designed to tackle child poverty head on and is one of five family benefits which provides financial support to low income families with children aged under 6.
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Parents and carers do not need to reapply and will see their payments increase automatically and the benefit is set to rise even further at the end of the year.
The Scottish Child Payment will extend to all eligible children under the age of 16 at the end of 2022 - and at that point also increase further from £20 to £25.
Once extended, it is expected over 400,000 children could be eligible and the Scottish Government estimates that the newly doubled Scottish Child Payment, together with the three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, will provide families with more than £10,000 by the time their first child turns 6 and £9,700 for subsequent children.
This compares to less than £1,800 for an eligible family’s first child in England and Wales, and less than £1,300 for subsequent children.
Visiting Glasgow based family charity Govan Help, 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.
“Our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan will also build on our investment in employment support for parents, through new skills and training opportunities and key worker support to help reduce household costs and drive longer term change.
“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.”
