At the end of November, Scottish Government announced that the Scottish Child Payment will be doubled to £20 per week per child from April 2022.

The First Minister confirmed that more than 105,000 children will immediately benefit from the increased payment, which supports low income families with children aged under 6 years old.

Delivered by Social Security Scotland and first introduced in February 2021 as a £10 per week payment designed to tackle child poverty, the Scottish Child Payment aims to provide regular, additional financial support for eligible families.

The benefit will be fully rolled out to children under 16 years old by the end of 2022, subject to data on qualifying benefits being received from the Department of Work and Pensions. It is expected over 400,000 children could be eligible for the doubled payment from that point.

Social Security Scotland delivers a number of benefits for families. These include Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Best Start Foods. The newly doubled Scottish Child Payment, together with these 3 Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, could give families up to £8,400 by the time their first child turns 6 years old.

For further information, please visit the Scottish Government announcement.