​SCOT GOV ANNOUNCES NEW SCOTTISH CHILD PAYMENT

Colin Beattie, MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, has welcomed the announcement yesterday, that the Scottish Child Payment will give eligible families £10 a week for every child under 16 by the end of 2022. For a family with two children under the age of 16 this is an additional £1,000 a year.

Announced by Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Communities during a Ministerial Statement on Tackling the child poverty plan, the Scottish Government is using new social security powers to introduce a new benefit to lift children out of poverty.  

Once fully rolled out, the payment will benefit up to 410,000 children and reduce relative child poverty by 3 percentage points – making a significant impact towards our interim child poverty targets. The Scottish Child Payment will not only support those in poverty and reduce relative child poverty – it will also prevent those just above the poverty threshold from sliding under.  

Commenting, SNP MSP Colin Beattie said: 

“This announcement made by Aileen Campbell is warmly welcomed. It will help to lift so many families out of poverty. 

“The Scottish Government are already making a real difference to thousands of families. From the new Best Start Grant, new employability programmes and encouraging flexible work, increases to the value of the School Clothing Grant, almost doubling funded provision of Early Learning and Childcare, and delivering 50,000 warm and affordable homes. 

“This is the mark of a serious government that is balancing the radical action needed to address the changing needs of Scotland’s people, in a responsible way.”