Scottish Child Payment helps nearly 79,000 young people

An estimated 78,775 children have already benefitted from Scottish Child Payment since its launch.

The benefit, which is unique to Scotland, is intended to help low-income families with the costs of raising a child. It gives qualifying parents and carers £40 every four weeks for each child under six.

A total of 92% of the applications received and processed have been approved, and £3.6 million has been paid out since February.

Applications were received from people living in all 32 local authorities in Scotland, with the highest number of 17,330 from Glasgow City.

Parents and carers are able to apply for all eligible children in their household in a single application and can also apply for Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods at the same time.

Scottish Child Payment is in addition to the UK wide Child Benefit.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security Shirley-Anne Somerville said:

“It is great to see so many families benefitting from the Scottish Child Payment and that it is making a positive impact on the lives of so many children. We are working hard to tackle child poverty and it is fantastic to see the number of households being supported so quickly after the payment’s launch.

“It is a benefit unique to Scotland within the UK, and has been hailed as a potential ‘game-changer’ in the fight against child poverty."

More than 104,000 applications were made between 9 November 2020 and 31 March 2021.

To get advice on what benefits may be available, parents and carers can access free, confidential advice through Money Talk Team. Visit Parentclub.scot to find out more.

The full statistics publication is available to view at the Scottish Government website.