What is Scottish Child Payment?

It’s a new payment for families on certain benefits or tax credits to help towards the costs of looking after a child. It’s £40 paid every four weeks for each child under six.

It opens on Monday 15 February 2021 but we are taking applications now to help us manage demand.

Who can get it?

People can apply for Scottish Child Payment whether in work or not.

People may be eligible if they, or their partner, are the parent or full-time carer of a child who will be aged under six on 15 February 2021 and if they get certain benefits or tax credits.*

How many children can qualify for Scottish Child Payment per household?

Every child under six in a qualifying family will get a payment.

How do people apply?

We take applications via our freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222, by post or online at mygov.scot/scottish-child-payment.

Why are you asking people to apply now?

We are expecting a huge demand for this new payment. Encouraging people to apply now means we can check that we have all the information and evidence we need to make a decision once the benefit starts on Monday 15 February.

What evidence will be required?

We need evidence that the person applying is responsible for a child under six, usually through the child being named on a benefits claim. If more than one person applies for the same child we have a process for deciding who gets the payment, prioritising the person who the child lives with for the majority of the time.

Kinship carers can demonstrate responsibility for a child with a legal order or letter of support from a local authority.

Will they need their partner’s information?

Yes if they live in the same household and are:

• married to each other
• civil partners of each other
• living together as if you are

What happens if someone’s circumstances change after applying?

People need to let us know if their circumstances change at any point. This is to make sure that they are getting everything that they are entitled to. This could include changes to what benefits or tax credits someone gets or where they live.

What if the child turns six before Monday 15 February 2021?

Children who will be six years old or older on Monday 15 February will not be eligible.

When should people expect to get a decision?

We’ll start writing to people following Monday 15 February – the time this will take will depend on the demand and whether or not we need to ask people for more evidence.

This letter will tell them how much money they’ll get in their first payment and when to expect this.

When will people get their first payments?

We will make the first payments to eligible families from the week after the benefit opens. Not everyone will get their payment on the same day and not everyone will be paid from this week. When someone gets paid will depend on how many applications we get and the process each individual application goes through.

If someone applied before Monday 15 February 2021, this will be the date that their payment will be calculated from. If they apply after this date, it will be calculated from the date that they applied.

Payments will be made every four weeks following the first payment.

How will people be paid?

Eligible families will be paid into their chosen account. They can contact us if they wish to change their chosen account.

What can people use the money for?

It is up to the person on how they decide to use this money to help support their family.

Does it affect other benefits?

No, it will not be taken into account for UK benefit and tax credit assessments.