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The Scottish Child Payment is £28.20 per week per child under 16 (2026/27), paid to families receiving qualifying benefits like Universal Credit. It's a Scotland-only benefit with no direct equivalent in England. For a family with two children, that's £2,932 per year. Administered by Social Security Scotland, it's paid every 4 weeks into your bank account.
Scottish Child Payment (SCP) is one of the most significant Scotland-only social security payments — a weekly cash benefit for lower-income families with children that has no equivalent in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
Payment rate. £28.20 per week per child in 2026/27 (the rate is uprated annually in line with inflation). For a family with two qualifying children, that is £56.40/week — £2,932/year — paid directly into a bank account every four weeks. For three children: £4,399/year. The payment continues until the child turns 16.
Qualifying benefits. To receive Scottish Child Payment, you or your partner must be receiving one of: Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, or Child Disability Payment. In practice, Universal Credit is the most common qualifying benefit.
No income cap. The SCP is not means-tested beyond the qualifying benefit requirement. If you receive even a small amount of Universal Credit, you qualify for SCP regardless of your total household income. However, since Universal Credit itself is means-tested, most SCP recipients are in lower-income households.
Interaction with Universal Credit. Scottish Child Payment is counted as income for Universal Credit purposes. If you receive SCP, HMRC will include it in your income calculation, potentially reducing your UC award. The net effect depends on your UC taper rate — for most recipients, SCP still increases total household income because not all of the SCP is clawed back through UC.
Who administers it. Social Security Scotland, not DWP, administers SCP. You apply through the mygov.scot website or by phone to Social Security Scotland. There is no need to separately claim it as a "top-up" — once approved, it is paid automatically.
The political context. SCP was introduced by the Scottish Government as a direct policy lever to reduce child poverty. Scotland's child poverty rate is measured annually and has been falling relative to the UK average since SCP's introduction. The Scottish Government has an ambition to reduce child poverty to below 10% — SCP is the primary driver of this strategy.
Apply through mygov.scot/scottish-child-payment or by calling Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222. You'll need your National Insurance number, details of the qualifying benefit you receive, and your child's details. Payments start from the date of application — there is no backdating, so apply as soon as you think you qualify.
SCP is counted as income for Universal Credit, which may reduce your UC slightly. It does not affect Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, or other legacy benefits. For most families, the SCP increases total income even after any UC reduction, because UC is withdrawn at 55p per £1 of income, meaning you keep 45p of every SCP pound net of UC adjustment.
Payments stop the week after the child's 16th birthday. If your child is still in full-time education or training, you may remain eligible for Child Tax Credit or the child element of Universal Credit until they turn 20, but the Scottish Child Payment itself ceases at age 16.