Scottish Child Payment to rise to £25 per week by end of 2022, minister Shona Robison confirms

The Scottish Child Payment is to rise to £25 per week by the end of the year, it has been announced.

An increase to £20 per week will also take place from April 1, the Scottish Government confirmed.

The payment is currently £10 per week.

It will also be extended to children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022.

In a statement at Holyrood, social justice secretary Shona Robison set out the increase to the payment.

Robison told MSPs that over 400,000 children will be eligible for the payment.

And she said she expects the measure will lift 50,000 children out of poverty in 2023/24.

Funding of £10m is also to be used each year to mitigate the UK Government benefit cap.

“This will help support thousands of the lowest income families, including lone parent families who are disproportionately impacted by the cap,” said Robison.

The minister explained that

She said: “We’ll double the game-changing Scottish Child Payment to £20 in just over a week and extend the payment to children under 16 by the end of this year.

“However, I am pleased to announce that we will go further still and we will increase its value again to £25 per week per child by the end of 2022.

“That is five times higher than the £5 payment we were being asked to introduced less than five years ago.

“Over 400,000 children will be eligible, with the payment expected to lift 50,000 children out of poverty in 2023/24.

“And this is backed by investment of £225m in 2022/23, rising to £445m in 2023/24.”

Robison added: “As a result of this increase, by the end of 2022, our package of five family benefits for low-income families will be worth over £10,000 by the time a family’s first child turns six, and £9,700 for second and subsequent children.

“Now, this compares to under £1800 for an eligible family’s first child in England and Wales, and under £1300 for second and subsequent children.

“That is a difference of more than £8200 for every eligible child born in Scotland, highlighting the unparalleled support offered by this government to support children across the early years.”