Scottish Child Payment, Child Benefit and Best Start Grants can provide crucial financial support for families. The Scottish Government is urging parents and carers to check their eligibility for financial support before the summer holidays draw to a close and the new school year begins. The five family payments administered by Social Security Scotland can help pay for extra back to school expenses alongside everyday family costs like food, clothing and days out.
This includes the Scottish Child Payment, a weekly payment of £26.70 for eligible families with children up to 16. The payment is worth £106.
80 each month, unique to Scotland and currently supports over 329,000 children and young people. Combined with Child Benefit payments from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), parents could be due up to £209 each month in additional support. Child Benefit is a separate UK-wide payment worth £25.
60 for the eldest or only child and is also paid every four weeks, amounting to £102.40. The three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, also part of social security support, are designed to help families at key stages in their children’s early years, including during pregnancy.
There is no cap on the number of children in one family who can receive these payments. Up to the end of March 2024, over £829 million has been provided to families across Scotland through the five family payments. Speaking at Home-Start Dundee, a charity that helps families with young children, Cabine.