Scotland, Wales, NI
Scottish Child Payment: the weekly amount and who can apply
Social Security Scotland’s top-up for low-income families, paid per child with no limit on numbers and no effect on other benefits.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Scottish Child Payment is £28.20 a week for every child under 16 that you look after, paid every 4 weeks by Social Security Scotland to families living in Scotland who get Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit. The rate rose from £27.15 in April 2026, an increase of £1.05 in line with inflation, under the Scottish Government’s up-rating for 2026-27. A family with two children receives £225.60 every four weeks, about £2,933 a year, and three children bring £338.40 a payment. There is no cap on the number of children and no earnings test of its own: the gate is the qualifying benefit, so a working family on a small Universal Credit award gets the full amount. Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance also qualifies, as do Pension Credit, Income Support and income-related ESA when the applicant is named on the award. The payment does not reduce any UK or Scottish benefit, and Child Benefit on its own does not qualify.
Scottish Child Payment for your children
Every 4 weeks
£225.60
| A week | £56.40 |
| A year (52 weeks) | £2,932.80 |
| Rise on 2025/26 | £109.20 a year |
Paid on top of Universal Credit and Child Benefit, which it does not reduce.
How much it pays, by family size
Every child counts the same: there is no higher rate for the eldest and no limit on how many children are included.
| Children under 16 | A week | Every 4 weeks | A year (52 weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £28.20 | £112.80 | £1,466.40 |
| 2 | £56.40 | £225.60 | £2,932.80 |
| 3 | £84.60 | £338.40 | £4,399.20 |
| 4 | £112.80 | £451.20 | £5,865.60 |
| 5 | £141.00 | £564.00 | £7,332.00 |
For a family with two children, Scottish Child Payment is worth more than Child Benefit: £56.40 a week against £44.95. Put together, the two payments give a couple on Universal Credit with two children £101.35 a week before Universal Credit itself is counted, and none of it reduces the Universal Credit award.
Take a lone father in Dundee with children aged 4, 9 and 13, working 25 hours a week and receiving a Universal Credit top-up of a few hundred pounds a month. He gets £338.40 of Scottish Child Payment every four weeks. If a pay rise trims his Universal Credit to a small sum, the Scottish payment stays the same; only if Universal Credit ends completely does it stop.
The Scottish Government’s up-rating report, published on 2 February 2026, raised all its devolved benefits by 3.8 %, the Consumer Prices Index for September 2025. That took Scottish Child Payment from £27.15 to £28.20, which is £54.60 a year more per child.
The qualifying benefits
You must live in Scotland, be the main person looking after a child under 16, and you or your partner must receive a qualifying benefit. mygov.scot splits the list in two.
| Benefit | Who must be named on it |
|---|---|
| Universal Credit | You or your partner |
| Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance | You or your partner |
| Pension Credit | You alone (otherwise your partner applies) |
| Income Support | You alone (otherwise your partner applies) |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance | You alone (otherwise your partner applies) |
Child Benefit alone is not enough, nor are PIP, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based benefits, unless the household also gets one of the benefits in the table. If you have applied for a qualifying benefit and are waiting for a decision, you can apply for Scottish Child Payment at the same time rather than waiting. A benefit from an EEA country or Switzerland may also count; Social Security Scotland decides case by case.
The main person looking after the child
The applicant must be the main carer: a birth parent, the parent’s partner if they live together as a couple, or a kinship carer. To show this, the child must be named on your or your partner’s claim for Child Benefit, Universal Credit or Pension Credit. A kinship carer can instead send a copy of a legal order, such as a Kinship Care Order, Residence Order or Guardianship Order, or a written kinship care agreement with the council.
Only one person can receive the payment for a child. When two people apply for the same child, for example separated parents who share care, Social Security Scotland follows its double claims process, which depends on the benefits each of them receives.
Applying
Applications are made online, by phone on 0800 182 2222 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) or on a paper form. The online form takes 10 to 20 minutes and cannot be saved halfway. You need your name, date of birth, address and National Insurance number, the names and dates of birth of the children, your partner’s details and National Insurance number, and your bank details if you have an account. Interpreters are available in more than 100 languages by phone.
The same form covers the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, and families already receiving Scottish Child Payment are checked automatically for the Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment of £331.95 each, as Social Security Scotland explains. Pregnancy and Baby Payment and Best Start Foods still need an application.
What Scottish Child Payment unlocks
Receiving the payment is itself a passport to other help. In primary 6 and 7, a child whose family gets Scottish Child Payment qualifies for free school meals without the Universal Credit earnings test of £995 a month that otherwise applies, as mygov.scot sets out. Families on the qualifying benefits can also ask the council about help in the school holidays. The guide to benefits in Scotland lists the other Social Security Scotland payments, including Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment.
Changes you must report
Tell Social Security Scotland straight away if you move outside Scotland, stop looking after a child, start or stop living with a partner, or stop getting the qualifying benefit. Not reporting a change you have been asked to report is an offence under section 72 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, and overpaid money can be recovered. Also report a new child you start looking after, so they are added, and changes of name, address or bank details.