A KEY benefit aimed at tackling child poverty has now doubled before it rises even further later this year.
Families eligible for the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) will now get £20 a week per child with 104,000 kids already benefitting from the increase.
The payment was brought in by the SNP as part of their efforts to end child deprivation and is unique to Scotland.
It is one of five family benefits that provides financial support to low-income families with children aged under six.
While meeting families at @GovanHelp, First Minister @NicolaSturgeon reiterated @ScotGov’s commitment to tackling child poverty.
— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) April 4, 2022
The visit took place following the doubling of the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per child.https://t.co/yRVeHRnhrS pic.twitter.com/OnaEcpv4Zv
The benefit will also be extended at the end of the year to include all eligible children under the age of 16 and at that point also increase further from £20 to £25.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Glasgow-based family charity Govan Help on Monday to see some of the youngsters who would be benefitting from the move.
She said: "We are using our social security powers to take immediate steps to put cash in the pockets of families by doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per child – support not replicated anywhere else in the UK.
“This is a key part of our national mission to tackle child poverty. We will further increase this payment to £25 by the end of 2022 – five times the amount campaigners originally asked.
READ MORE: Ukraine accuses Russia of massacre as bodies found near Kyiv
"This will give families additional financial support of £1300 for each eligible child every year. We will back this with investment of around £671 million over the next two years.
“Our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan will also build on our investment in employment support for parents, through new skills and training opportunities and key worker support to help reduce household costs and drive longer-term change.
“We are determined to give children the best start and a bright future by putting more money into the pockets of those who need it most."
Viv Sawers, chief officer at Govan Help, said: “The roll-out and the uplift in Scottish Child Payment will have an incredible impact on the families across Scotland who need it most and we are delighted to see money going directly to families who we know are struggling to meet their basic cost of living.
“Govan has higher than average rates of Child Poverty so this will have a hugely positive impact on the quality of life for families in this local community.
"We see families struggling daily, they have told us what a difference this has made already with the cost of living increases, we look forward to supporting more families to access this as it rolls out to children up to age 16 later this year."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here