NICOLA Sturgeon has confirmed the Scottish Child Payment will increase from £20-a-week to £25.
The payment for low-income families for children under the age of six has paid out £84 million since being launched in February last year and now benefits over 100,000 children.
The increase will take place in November and the payments will be open to all eligible children under 16.
The rise comes after the Scottish Government doubled the original £10-per-week allowance to £20 back in April.
When will the change come into effect?
The Scottish Government announced that the change will come into effect on November 14.
What has Nicola Sturgeon said about it?
The First Minister said: “The Scottish Child Payment is unique to Scotland, the most ambitious child poverty reduction measure in the UK and an important action to mitigate the growing cost emergency.
“We doubled the payment to £20 per week per child in April and the further increase to £25 from November means a rise of 150% in less than eight months.
“Around 104,000 children currently in receipt of Scottish Child Payment will have it automatically increased to £25 per week. All new eligible under 16s will also benefit from the £25 rate, with all payments backdated to the date their application is received.”
Who can apply?
You can apply for the Scottish Child Payment if you live in Scotland, if you or your partner are in receipt of a qualifying benefit (Universal Credit, Legacy Benefits and/or Pension Credit) and you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who's under 6 years old or up to under 16 from November 14.
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