Doubled payment to benefit families

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that the Scottish Child Payment will be doubled to £20 per week per child from April 2022 is set to benefit Monklands families.

There are more than 106,000 children aged under six currently living in households that receive payments across Scotland.

The payment is designed to tackle child poverty, providing regular additional financial support for eligible families.

The benefit will be fully rolled out to children under the age of 16 by the end of 2022, subject to Social Security Scotland receiving data on qualifying benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which means more than 400,000 children could be eligible for the payment from that point.

The new payment, together with the three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, could give Monklands families up to £8400 by the time their first child turns six.