Scottish Child Payment to be introduced in 2021
Scottish Child Payment will provide eligible families with £10 a week for every child under 16, with introduction for under-sixes starting by early 2021.
A brand new benefit will provide eligible families with £10 a week for every child under 16, with introduction for under-sixes starting by early 2021.
The Scottish Child Payment will give more immediate support to eligible families who need it most, as almost 60% of all children in poverty live in a family with a child under the age of six.
It will be delivered to all remaining eligible families with children under-16 by the end of 2022, with no cap on the number of children in families.
When delivered in full, 410,000 children could be eligible for the income supplement – over a third of all children. It is estimated it will lift 30,000 children out of relative poverty by 2023/24.
For a family with two children under the age of 16, this new payment would mean additional support of more than £1,000 a year.
The payment will be administered by Social Security Scotland alongside the existing programme of devolved social security benefits.
SFHA was part of a coalition of 70 leaders and organisations from across Scottish society which joined together earlier this week to call on the First Minister to speed up the introduction of the payment.
Polly Jones, Head of Policy and Membership, SFHA, said: “Putting an extra £10 a week per child in the pockets of families struggling to make ends meet is an important step to reduce child poverty in Scotland.
“SFHA is proud to have campaigned alongside many other organisations to make this happen. Now we must campaign together to lift the freeze on benefits.”