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Children's Handbook Scotland | 2023/24

12. Guardian’s allowance

• Who can get guardian’s allowance
• Who is an eligible child
• Parents and adoptive parents
• Amount of benefit

Guardian’s allowance is a benefit paid to people looking after a child who is actually or effectively an orphan. It is not means tested and so is not affected by any income or savings you have. However, if a local authority is paying you to look after a child you are fostering, this might affect guardian’s allowance (see Chapter 8). You do not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get guardian’s allowance.

HM Revenue and Customs is responsible for the administration of guardian’s allowance.

Who can get guardian’s allowance

• Who is an eligible child
• Parents and adoptive parents

You can claim guardian’s allowance for a child if:1ss77 and 122(5) SSCBA 1992; reg 7 GA(Gen) Regs

•you are entitled to child benefit for the child. Note: you still count as being entitled to child benefit if you have chosen not to claim to avoid the high-income child benefit charge; and
•the child is an ‘eligible child’ (see here); and
•the child is living with you, or you (or your spouse/civil partner) are contributing to the cost of supporting the child at a rate of at least £20.40 a week (in addition to any payment you make which means you are entitled to child benefit for the child); and
•the residence conditions are satisfied. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for more information.

 

1     ss77 and 122(5) SSCBA 1992; reg 7 GA(Gen) Regs »

Who is an eligible child

A child is an ‘eligible child’ if:

•both her/his parents have died; or
•her/his parents were not married or in a civil partnership, the mother has died and the father is unknown; or
•her/his parents are divorced or their civil partnership has been dissolved, one parent has died and when s/he died, the other parent did not have custody of and was not maintaining the child, and neither arrangement was required by a court order or child support assessment; or
•one of her/his parents has died and, when s/he died, the whereabouts of the other parent were unknown and all reasonable efforts to trace her/him have been unsuccessful; or
•one of her/his parents has died and the other is serving a sentence of imprisonment or detention of at least two years or detained in hospital (under particular legislation).

Parents and adoptive parents

The general rule is that parents cannot claim guardian’s allowance for their own child. Adoptive parents count as parents and therefore cannot get guardian’s allowance for an adopted child. The exception to this is if an adoptive parent is entitled to guardian’s allowance for the child immediately before the adoption.1s77(11) SSCBA 1992

 

1     s77(11) SSCBA 1992 »

Amount of benefit

Weekly rate
Each eligible child	£20.40