Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods

Best Start is the Scottish Government's package of help for families on low incomes with young children. It has two parts: the Best Start Grant, three one-off cash payments at pregnancy and birth, nursery age and school age, and Best Start Foods, money loaded onto a prepaid card every four weeks to buy healthy food¹. Both are paid by Social Security Scotland, the agency that delivers Scotland's devolved benefits, and neither has to be paid back².

The three grant payments are the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, worth £796.65 for a first child and £398.35 for any subsequent child in 2026/27, the Early Learning Payment of £331.95 per child, and the School Age Payment, also £331.95 per child, paid in the year a child first starts school³. Best Start Foods adds £22.40 every four weeks in pregnancy, £44.80 every four weeks until a child's first birthday, and £22.40 every four weeks from age one until the child turns three⁴.

To qualify for most of this you must live in Scotland and receive a qualifying low income benefit such as Universal Credit, Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, though parents under 18 can qualify without any benefits at all⁵. This page explains each payment, the eligibility rules, when to apply, how the card works and what to do if a decision goes against you.

Three payments at three stages: Pregnancy and Baby, Early Learning and School Age

The Best Start Grant is made up of three one-off payments, each tied to a stage in a child's early life¹. The Pregnancy and Baby Payment helps with the costs of a new baby, from clothes and equipment to the extra bills a newborn brings. The Early Learning Payment comes at nursery age, and the School Age Payment at the point a child starts school, when uniforms, shoes and school bag costs arrive. Each is a single lump sum paid into your chosen bank account, and a family can receive all three for the same child as the child grows².

The payments replaced the UK Government's Sure Start Maternity Grant in Scotland, which was a single one-off payment at birth and nothing afterwards⁷. The Scottish design spreads support across the early years instead, and it removed the limit on the number of children that could be supported, so unlike the old maternity grant there is no cap tied to a first child only⁷. Best Start Foods, the companion scheme, replaced the UK Healthy Start Voucher scheme in Scotland and went live in August 2019⁸.

Two of the three grants are now often paid without an application at all. Since November 2022, Social Security Scotland automatically checks people who get Scottish Child Payment and whose child meets the age conditions, and pays the Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment straight into their bank account¹⁰. Between 28 November 2022 and 31 March 2025, 87,025 such auto-awarded payments were made⁵. If you do not get Scottish Child Payment, you apply for these grants yourself in the normal way.

Pregnancy and Baby Payment: £796.65 for a first child

The Pregnancy and Baby Payment is a one-off grant to help with the costs of having a baby. In 2026/27 it is £796.65 for a first baby, or where there are no other children under 18 in the household, and £398.35 on the birth of any subsequent children³. The higher amount recognises that a first child means buying everything from scratch: a cot, a pram, a car seat, clothes and feeding equipment.

The figures are uprated each April. The statistics for the year to 31 March 2025 record the payment as £754.65 for a first child and £377.35 for subsequent children, and the Scottish Government's policy page still carries those figures, so older amounts appear in some documents⁵. The current amounts were set by regulations that substituted £796.65 for the previous £767.50 basic amount from 1 April 2026¹². When you apply, the amount you receive is the one in force at the date of your application.

The payment is not limited to parents who have given birth. If you have adopted a baby, or have started looking after a baby as a kinship carer, you can apply for the grant, and in those cases you have until the end of the day before the child's first birthday to apply¹³. The payment also applies to first children and subsequent children alike, with no limit on the number of children supported⁵.

There is one exclusion to be aware of: you cannot get a Pregnancy and Baby Payment if you received a Sure Start Maternity Grant for the same child¹⁴. This matters for families who move to Scotland after claiming the UK-wide grant, and for people who moved between schemes when Best Start was introduced.

Best Start Foods: up to £44.80 every 4 weeks for healthy food

Best Start Foods is a regular payment for healthy food, loaded onto a prepaid card rather than paid into a bank account. It provides money for pregnant women and families with children under three who receive certain benefits⁸. The card can be used to buy eggs, plain cow's milk, first infant formula, fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables (those with added salt or sugar are excluded), and pulses such as peas, lentils and beans¹⁰.

The amounts in 2026/27 are:

The higher rate in a baby's first year reflects the cost of formula milk and the extra food a new mother needs. The weekly equivalent works out at £5.60 per week for each child aged over one but under three, or under four if you were previously getting Healthy Start vouchers¹⁷. An official evaluation published in September 2025 described the scheme as a weekly sum of £5.40 for pregnant women and families with children aged one and two, a slightly different figure that reflects the rates in force when that research was carried out¹⁰.

The Scottish Government's own policy page lists different figures, £42.40 every 4 weeks from birth until a child is one and £21.20 every 4 weeks between the ages of one and three, while other guidance for 2026/27 gives £44.80 and £22.40 for the same age groups⁸. The figures in the table above come from Social Security Scotland's family payments factsheet and independent guidance for 2026/27, which agree with each other³. If the exact amount matters to your budget, confirm it with Social Security Scotland when you apply.

Best Start Foods offers a wider range of healthy foods than the Healthy Start Vouchers it replaced⁸. It also has protections the old scheme lacked: people continue to receive Best Start Foods for eight weeks when any qualifying benefit ends, not just Universal Credit, giving a grace period while circumstances settle¹⁸. And the payments will not count as income when your entitlement to other benefits is worked out, so the card does not reduce your Universal Credit or other support¹⁷.

Who can get Best Start: qualifying benefits, residency and the rules for under-20s

To be eligible for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, you must live in Scotland⁵. Beyond residency, the main route in is receiving a qualifying low income benefit. The qualifying benefits are⁵:

• Universal Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit (both ceased from 6 April 2025)

The contributory versions of Jobseeker's Allowance and ESA do not count, only the income-based and income-related forms¹⁹. If your benefit is one of the legacy benefits being phased out, moving to Universal Credit does not itself end your Best Start entitlement, because Universal Credit is on the list.

Young parents have their own rules, and they are more generous than the general ones:

• Under 18: you do not need to be getting any benefits to qualify for the Best Start Grant, no matter what your income is⁶.
• Aged 18 or 19: you can still apply if someone else, usually a parent, is claiming Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for you, regardless of your own income³.
• Best Start Foods: under 18s qualify from 10 weeks of pregnancy whether or not they receive any benefits; over 18s need to be at least 10 weeks pregnant and receiving a qualifying benefit¹³.

Official statistics describe this group as parents under 18, and parents aged 18 or 19 who are dependent on someone receiving benefits for them⁵. One restriction applies: the payments are not available to people aged 18 or under who are subject to immigration control, and independent guidance notes that a partner or parent needs access to public funds²⁰. If your immigration status limits your benefits, the rules are explained on our page about no recourse to public funds.

For Best Start Foods specifically, the person responsible for a child under three, or their partner, must meet the residency criteria for the child to be eligible¹⁸. Where two people apply in relation to the same child, an application from someone who is pregnant takes precedence over an application from anyone else¹⁸.

When to apply for each payment

Each payment has its own application window, and missing it means losing the payment, so the timing matters as much as the eligibility.

Pregnancy and Baby Payment. You can apply from the end of the 24th week of pregnancy until the day your baby is 6 months old³. This is a hard deadline: the claim must be made by the time your baby is 6 months old at the latest⁴. For adoptive parents and kinship carers, the window runs until the end of the day before the child's first birthday¹³.

Early Learning Payment. Apply when a child is between the ages of 2 and 3.5 years³. There is no payment after that window closes, so a family who waits until the child is nearly four gets nothing for this stage.

School Age Payment. You apply in the year a child is first old enough to start school³. Children can still get the payment if their school start is being deferred³. The application round closes on a fixed date each year: the 2026 round closed on 28 February 2026⁷. If you get Scottish Child Payment, you do not need to track these windows at all, because Social Security Scotland checks and pays automatically¹¹.

Best Start Foods. You can apply when you are pregnant, or any time up to your child turning 3 years old²¹. Unlike the grants, this is a rolling entitlement rather than a one-off, so applying late shortens the payments you receive rather than cancelling them. If you apply too early, your application can be treated as if it were received up to 10 days later, so a slightly premature application is not thrown out¹⁸.

How to apply to Social Security Scotland

Applications are handled by Social Security Scotland, the executive agency of the Scottish Government responsible for delivering Scotland's benefits²². There are three ways to apply²³:

1. Online at mygov.scot/benefits, which is the fastest route.
2. By phone, free on 0800 182 2222, where a member of staff can take your application or post you a paper form.
3. By post, using a downloadable paper form sent to Social Security Scotland.

The phone line is open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday⁶. If you are claiming a Pregnancy and Baby Payment and an Early Learning Payment at the same time, you only need to fill the form in once, and the same application covers Best Start Foods²⁴. Support is available for people who would prefer not to apply in English²⁴.

Once your completed application and any further information Social Security Scotland needs are in, they aim to make a decision within 30 days⁵. In practice the median processing time in early 2025 was 12 working days in January, 11 in February and 14 in March⁵. After the decision letter arrives, grant payments are aimed to reach you within seven days, and a Best Start Foods card within six weeks⁵.

If you get Scottish Child Payment, the Early Learning and School Age payments are made automatically and there is nothing to apply for¹¹. You can opt out of these automatic payments by calling free on 0800 182 2222 or by webchat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland²⁶.

Using the Best Start Foods card

Best Start Foods is paid every four weeks onto a prepaid chip and pin card¹⁸. The card works like a normal bank card, with contactless or Chip and Pin, and it can be used in all supermarkets or local shops that sell food and accept bank card payments, as well as online¹⁰. The card is topped up automatically every four weeks, so there is nothing to do once the award is in place¹⁷.

The money can only be spent on the prescribed healthy foods: eggs, plain cow's milk and first infant formula, fruit and vegetables without added salt or sugar, and pulses¹⁰. It cannot be withdrawn as cash or spent on anything else, which is the main practical difference from the cash grants.

To check your balance there are three routes: online at www.allpayprepaid.net, at a cashpoint, or by calling allpay on 0808 196 1687¹⁸.

Eligibility for the card does not always end when a benefit stops. People continue to receive Best Start Foods for eight weeks when any qualifying benefit ends, not just Universal Credit¹⁸. For young people who qualify without benefits, eligibility continues until the child turns one, or the person responsible for the child or their partner turns 18, or stops being a dependant, whichever is later¹⁸. If you are later awarded a qualifying benefit backdated to cover the date of an original Best Start Foods application that was refused, a new decision can be made¹⁸.

Refused or wrong decision: redetermination and appeal

If you disagree with a decision on Best Start Grant or Best Start Foods, you have the right to ask Social Security Scotland to take a fresh look at it. This is called a redetermination, and it is the Scottish equivalent of the mandatory reconsideration used by the Department for Work and Pensions²⁷. Social Security Scotland then has 16 working days to make the new determination⁵.

Redeterminations are used often. By 31 March 2025, 5,095 redetermination requests had been received and 5,065 completed. Of the completed ones, 1,255 were allowed, 2,850 were disallowed and 895 were withdrawn⁵. So a refused application is not the end of the road, but a majority of challenged decisions are upheld, and it is worth sending any new evidence, such as proof of a benefit award, with the request.

If the redetermination also goes against you, the next step is an appeal to a tribunal, and the general process is covered on our pages about challenging a decision and tribunal appeals. The decision letter you receive, formally called a notice of determination, must be clear and accessible and must explain the decision, so it tells you which routes are open to you and by when²⁵.

Help and support with your application

You do not have to manage an application alone. Social Security Scotland's freephone number, 0800 182 2222, handles applications, questions and requests for paper forms, and is open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday⁶. There is a webchat service at chat.socialsecurity.gov.scot, a Text Relay service on 18001 +0300 244 4000 for people who are hard of hearing, and British Sign Language users can contact the agency through contactscotland-bsl.org³. Support is available for people who would prefer not to apply in English²⁴.

Beyond the agency itself, free independent help exists. Turn2us and Contact publish guidance on the Best Start Grants and run benefits calculators, One Parent Families Scotland advises single parents on the Scottish payments, and Maternity Action advises parents on money rights including for families with immigration restrictions²⁰. Our page on checking entitlement lists the free calculators and advisers in one place.

Families in Scotland may also qualify for related support: Scottish Child Payment, which unlocks the automatic Best Start payments, the Scottish Welfare Fund for crisis grants, and the baby box given to every newborn in Scotland⁷. If you have recently moved to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK, Social Security Scotland publishes guidance on which benefits transfer and which are claimed fresh²⁹.