Social Security policy position paper - Scottish Child Payment: maximising take-up

Next steps

• The Scottish Child Payment for under 6s will open to applications in November with the first payments made to eligible families from the end of February 2021.
• We are committed to publishing the operational guidance for the Scottish Child Payment, and will endeavour to do so as soon as is practical. 
• Our ambition is to deliver Phase 2 of Scottish Child Payment for under 16s by the end of 2022, provided that the UK Government agrees to match our pace in providing the data that we need. The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimate that there could be 499,000 eligible children in 2022/23.
• We are committed to reviewing the Scottish Child Payment during the course of the next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan (2022-2026), and will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that support is targeted on those families that need it most.

Scottish Government
Social Security Directorate

October 2020

All enquiries in relation to this paper should be sent to: Ruari Sutherland

ruari.sutherland@gov.scot
2C-South Victoria Quay

This paper was correct as at the date of publication: please check the Scottish Government’s Social security: policy position papers webpage for any further updates.