2. Best Start grants
If you or your partner are pregnant or have a young child, you may be entitled to a Best Start grant. There are three separate one-off payments available.1The Early Years Assistance (Best Start Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 No.370, as amended (most recently by SI 2023 No.111) These are: •a pregnancy and baby payment of £754.65 if it is your first child, or £377.35 for a second or subsequent child. You can apply from the 24th week of pregnancy until six months after the baby is born;
•an early learning payment of £314.45 if you have a child aged between two and three-and-a-half years old;
•a school-age payment of £314.45 in the year your child would normally start school.
You are eligible for these payments if you are under 18 or get a qualifying benefit. You are also eligible if you are aged 18 or 19 and someone else claims child benefit, universal credit (UC), child tax credit (CTC) or pension credit (PC) for you. There are no special rules for students. Qualifying benefits are:
•UC (including if you got UC in the last month and it has now stopped);
•income support;
•income-based jobseeker’s allowance;
•income-related employment and support allowance;
•PC;
•housing benefit;
•CTC;
•working tax credit.
See for more details. You can apply online, by telephone on 0800 182 2222 or by downloading a paper form. Go to for more information or to start an application.