Scottish Child Payment to be fully introduced by the end of 2022

The Scottish Government has committed to introduce the Scottish Child Payment, a weekly payment of £10 for every eligible child under 16, by the end of 2022, with early introduction for children under six starting in early 2021¹. The commitment was set out in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, published in March 2018, with a first annual update on progress provided in June 2019¹.

The payment is part of the Scottish Government's child poverty programme, which also includes the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, setting income-based targets to reduce child poverty by 2030, and the Fairer Scotland Action Plan published in October 2016¹. Analysis published by the Scottish Government estimated that in 2018-19 over £527 million of investment was directly targeted at low income families with children, not including universal services such as early learning and childcare, education and health¹.

Reporting on the Scottish Budget in February 2020 described the payment as a weekly £10 for low-income households with a child under six by Christmas 2020, with full rollout by 2022, and an estimate that it would help raise 30,000 children in Scotland out of poverty once fully rolled out². A separate benefits timetable published in December 2021 said the payment would be £10 per week for each child or qualifying young person in the household, and that only households getting certain benefits would be able to get it: Universal Credit, income-related Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Pension Credit and tax credits³. The same timetable listed the introduction as taking place in early 2021³.

The sources differ on the rollout date. The Scottish Government document states full introduction for under 16s by the end of 2022¹; the February 2020 Budget coverage states full rollout by 2022²; and a Welsh Assembly committee report of October 2019 said the payment would provide £10 a week for every child aged 0-6 for low income families, with full roll out expected by 2024⁴. No source gives a precise date for the completion of the rollout beyond these statements.

Why it matters for households

The payment is aimed at families on low incomes with children. Under the eligibility list reported in the December 2021 timetable, entitlement depends on the household already receiving one of a set of means-tested benefits or tax credits, so families not on those benefits are outside the scheme as described³. The amount is £10 per week per eligible child¹.

The early phase covers children under six from early 2021, with the wider group of children under 16 following by the end of 2022¹. The Scottish Government's own survey data, from 2018, found that single parent and single adult households were the most likely to report not managing well financially, at 18 per cent each against a Scotland average of nine per cent, and that households relying mainly on benefits were the most likely to say they were not managing well, at 16 per cent, nearly double the overall rate¹. Households on incomes up to £10,000 were more than twice as likely as average to say they did not manage well, at 22 per cent¹.

The payment sits alongside other devolved support in Scotland, including the Carer's Allowance Supplement, Best Start Grant and increased School Clothing Grant¹. Separate Scottish payments include the Child Disability Payment and winter heating payments for pension age and child households, covered in the guide to Pension Age, Child and Winter Heating Payments in Scotland. Households in Scotland can find wider guidance in Money help in Scotland, and the Scottish Child Payment guide covers the payment itself.

What happens next

The Scottish Government document states the payment will reach every eligible child under 16 by the end of 2022¹. The February 2020 Budget coverage said the proposals required approval by the Scottish Parliament and Royal Assent before coming into force at the start of the tax year on 6 April 2020, and that the SNP, as a minority party, needed the support of at least one other party to pass the Budget².