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Children's Handbook Scotland | 2024/25

18. Scottish child payment

• Who can get Scottish child payment
• Responsible for a child
• Qualifying benefits
• Priority between claimants
• Amount of benefit

Scottish child payment is a top-up benefit for lower income families in Scotland responsible for children under the age of 16. You must be receiving a means-tested benefit to qualify. You do not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get Scottish child payment.

Social Security Scotland (SSS) is responsible for the administration of Scottish child payment.

Who can get Scottish child payment

• Responsible for a child
• Qualifying benefits

You qualify for Scottish child payment if:1SCP Regs

•you are responsible for a child aged under 16; and
•you are entitled to a qualifying benefit; and
•you are ordinarily resident in Scotland.

 

1     SCP Regs »

Responsible for a child

You must be responsible for the child on the date of your claim for Scottish child payment and continue to be responsible for them for each week of entitlement. You count as responsible for a child if you meet either of the following conditions.

•The child is your or your partner’s dependant. They are a dependant if:1Regs 9 and 12 SCP Regs
◦you are getting child benefit for them; or
◦you are getting universal credit (UC) and they are included in your award (it does not matter if a child element is not payable because of the ‘two-child limit’); or
◦you are getting child tax credit (CTC) and they are included in your award (it does not matter if a child element is not payable because of the ‘two-child limit’); or
◦you are getting a child amount for them in your pension credit (PC).
•You are a kinship carer for the child and either you have a kinship care order (or any other order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) or the child is looked after by the local authority and has been placed with you by the local authority.

 

1     Regs 9 and 12 SCP Regs »

Qualifying benefits

To qualify for Scottish child payment, you or your partner must have been awarded:1Reg 14 SCP Regs

•UC; or
•income support; or
•income-based jobseeker’s allowance; or
•income-related employment and support allowance; or
•CTC; or
•working tax credit; or
•PC.

 

1     Reg 14 SCP Regs »

Priority between claimants

Only one person can receive Scottish child payment for an individual child. If more than one eligible person applies for Scottish child payment for the same child, SSS must decide entitlement in the following order of priority:1Sch para 5 SCP Regs

•if only one person is responsible for the child for UC, CTC or PC, they are usually entitled;
•if more than one person is responsible for the child for UC, CTC or PC, it depends on the circumstances of the child. This may happen because the competing claimants are members of the same couple, or if the DWP/HM Revenue and Customs is paying more than one person for the same child (even if this is by mistake);
•if one person is responsible for the child for UC, CTC or PC and the other competing claimant is an approved kinship carer for the child, it depends on the circumstances of the child;
•if no one is responsible for the child for the purposes of UC, CTC or PC, the person who has been awarded child benefit, except where one person has been awarded child benefit and the other person is a kinship carer, in which case the kinship carer has priority;
•where there are competing claims from more than one kinship carer and no one has been awarded UC, CTC or PC , the person who claims first has priority.

Note: ‘kinship carer’ means someone who has a kinship care order (or other order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) or who is caring for a ‘looked-after’ child placed with the carer by the local authority.

 

1     Sch para 5 SCP Regs »

Amount of benefit

Scottish child payment is £26.70 a week for each qualifying child.