New figures show more than 300,000 children are receiving the Scottish Government's “game-changing” Scottish Child Payment, which is helping to tackle child poverty.

The new figures estimate that 303,000 children aged under 16 are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, with almost £250 million paid out since its launch in February 2021.

The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Child Payment in 2020 as part of Scotland's new social security system which established 13 benefits - seven of which are entirely new forms of financial support available only in Scotland.
 
The payment provides families with £25 a week per eligible child. Unlike the Tory UK government's two child limit for universal credit or child tax credit, there is no limit on how many children can receive the Scottish Child Payment.

Commenting, the MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Christina McKelvie, said

"It is no exaggeration to say the Scottish Child Payment is one of the most important policies introduced since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament back in 1999.

"I am delighted to see the SNP's game-changing payment reaching so many children and supporting families across Scotland and here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. It is essential at a time when Westminster control is hammering incomes like never before and causing significant hardship.

"It is important to tackle poverty as it is every single person’s right to enjoy a decent life, to have means within which they can live, and we must support those that are most vulnerable.

“Societally, this will improve health, the economy, the climate, and mental health. This cost-of-living crisis has really shown that financial hardship has many tragic consequences.

“But, without independence, we will continue to be operating with one arm batting off the disastrous incompetence of successive Tory government’s that we didn’t vote for, whilst batting off the consequences of Brexit, backed by the two main parties in the UK, with the other.

“But, it doesn’t have to be this way. Scotland could have a greener, fairer, more prosperous future if we had the powers required to govern our nation in their entirety.”