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, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “The most important priority for our government is eradicating child poverty, and we are committed to easing the pressure on families by getting vital money into their pockets at key stages in their child’s life.
“Whether it is helping families to buy healthy foods during pregnancy and for their kids as they grow, pushchairs to help on the move, or new shoes and clothing for school, our payments are there when they need it most. “We’re already supporting thousands of families across Scotland through our five family payments, and wider Scottish Government support is also helping to protect them as much as we can from the impacts of the cost of living crisis. “Even if you are working you could still get these payments and I want to encourage everyone to check if they are eligible and access the money they are entitled to.
” Earlier this year, the Scottish Government extended eligibility by removing income limits for Best Start Foods. This means anyone who gets a qualifying benefit, and is pregnant or has a child under-3, is eligible, regardless of their other income. Scottish Child Payment helps towards the costs of supporting your family and is a weekly payment of £26.
70 that you can get for every child you look after who is under the age of 16. Payments are made every four weeks and worth £106.8 per child.
Parents, carers and guardians can get more information on the dedicated Children and Family section on mygov.scot here or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222. Extra help to pay for school clothes is also available through local councils.
Parents and carers can usually apply for a ‘school clothing grant’ from July - fid out more here. Join the conversation on our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group for money-saving tips, the latest benefits news, energy updates and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Sign up to our Record Money newsletter and get the top stories sent to your inbox daily from Monday to Friday, including a special cost of living edition on a Thursday - sign up here .
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