Scottish Child Payment: how much it is and how to apply
£28.20 a week for every child, on top of other benefits. It does not exist anywhere else in the UK, and some families who are entitled to it have never claimed.
By Graeme · Published 31 July 2026 · 4 min read
Last updated
Quick answer ·
£28.20a week per child under 16
Paid every four weeks by Social Security Scotland to families on or Pension Credit. There is no limit on the number of children and it does not reduce other benefits.
- One child, every four weeks
- £112.80
- Two children, a week
- £56.40
- Rate in 2025/26
- £27.15
- Apply by phone
- 0800 182 2222
From April 2026Source Social Security Scotland
On this page
is £28.20 a week for every child under 16 in a family that gets or Pension Credit. Social Security Scotland pays it every four weeks, there is no limit on the number of children, and you have to apply for it.
It does not exist anywhere else in the UK and it does not reduce your other benefits. Some families who are entitled to it have never claimed a penny.
£28.20
per child, per week
Rate from April 2026, up from £27.15. Paid every four weeks, so £112.80 per child each payment.
How much is Scottish Child Payment 2026/27?
It is £28.20 a week for each child, paid as £112.80 per child every four weeks. Every child counts, not just the first.
From April 2026
Scottish Child Payment by number of children
| Children | A week | Every four weeks | A year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 child | £28.20 | £112.80 | £1,466.40 |
| 2 children | £56.40 | £225.60 | £2,932.80 |
| 3 children | £84.60 | £338.40 | £4,399.20 |
| 4 children | £112.80 | £451.20 | £5,865.60 |
For a family with two children that is £56.40 a week, or roughly £2,900 a year, before any other help.
Scottish Child Payment increase 2026
The payment rose from £27.15 to £28.20 a week in April 2026, in line with . The Scottish Government also plans a higher rate of £40 a week for babies under one from 2027. Rates normally change each April, and you do not need to do anything to get the new rate.
Who qualifies for Scottish Child Payment
- You live in Scotland.
- You are responsible for a child under 16.
- You, or your partner, get or Pension Credit.
There is no cap on the number of children. Only one person can get the payment for each child. If it is unclear who is mainly responsible, it goes to the person who gets Child Benefit, or the child part of or Pension Credit, for that child. Kinship carers can also qualify, with evidence of the kinship care arrangement.
The rules have changed several times since the payment started in 2021, and they can change again. This post is an explainer, not an check. The only place to find out for certain whether you qualify is Social Security Scotland, which runs it.
Check properly, and check for free
Social Security Scotland can tell you if you qualify. Citizens Advice Scotland will also check your for free and in confidence, and will look at everything else you might be missing at the same time.
Never pay anyone to make a benefits claim for you. It is always free to apply, and free to get advice.
How to apply for Scottish Child Payment
It is not paid automatically when you get . You apply to Social Security Scotland in one of three ways:
- Online, through the page on mygov.scot.
- By phone on 0800 182 2222, free, 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays.
- On a paper form, downloaded from mygov.scot and posted back.
Apply as soon as you start getting a benefit. Once you get , Social Security Scotland also checks whether you can get the Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment and pays them without a separate application. In P6 and P7, also gives free school meals.
Scottish Child Payment payment dates
Payments arrive every four weeks, on a date set by when your claim started. When a payment date falls on a bank holiday, Social Security Scotland pays early. These are the changes over Christmas and New Year.
Christmas 2026
Bank holiday payment dates
| Due on | Paid on |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December 2026 | Wednesday 23 December 2026 |
| Friday 25 December 2026 | Wednesday 23 December 2026 |
| Monday 28 December 2026 | Wednesday 23 December 2026 |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | Thursday 31 December 2026 |
| Monday 4 January 2027 | Thursday 31 December 2026 |
Scottish Child Payment and Child Benefit
They are different payments and most families on a low income can get both. Child Benefit, which some people still call family allowance, is paid across the UK by . It is not , although higher earners can have to pay some of it back through tax. It is £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 for each other child.
is extra, only in Scotland, and only for families on a benefit. Getting one does not reduce the other.
Why it matters more than its size suggests
The Scottish Government estimates that the payment kept 40,000 children out of in 2025/26. Independent analysis credits it with holding Scotland's child poverty rate roughly flat while rates in comparable English cities rose. It is the single clearest example on this site of a decision that measurably changed the number.
That cuts both ways. It shows the figures are not fixed and not inevitable, they respond to decisions. It also means decisions in the other direction show up just as fast.
Who decides it
The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. It is , which means your MSP is the person to ask about it, how much it is worth, and whether every family entitled to it is actually getting it.
Your MP in London decides different things: , most other benefits, and help with private rent. Both matter. They are different people, and you have both of them.
The bit that gets missed: take up
A payment only lifts a family out of poverty if the family receives it. Money that goes unclaimed does nothing at all, and unclaimed support is one of the quiet failures in the system, it never makes the news, because nothing visibly happens.
That is why one of the standard asks in the emails this site writes is simply that every family entitled to the payment actually gets it. It costs comparatively little and it is hard to argue against.
Ask your MSP what they are doing about it
I will find your MSP, put your area's own child poverty figure into the email and write it for you. You just read it and press send.
Email my MSPEvery figure I publish is sourced. See the costed list of what would actually help, the benefits guides, or the plain English glossary.
