A new benefit for the parents of children under six in low income families has launched.
The £10-per-week payment is part of the Scottish government's efforts to tackle child poverty.
Parents and carers who receive other welfare support such as Universal Credit or unemployment benefits are able to apply for the payment.
A payment is made for each child under six in eligible families, with the plan to roll it out to under-16s by 2022.
Money will be given out monthly, beginning in late February once eligibility has been assessed and decisions made.
Payments will be backdated from the day the application is sent, meaning eligible families who fail to apply by 15 February would miss out on some of their entitlement.
The Scottish government has revealed 77,000 applications for the new Scottish Child Payment had been received by 7 February.
If all 77,000 applications received so far are approved, it would account for less than 45% of the 173,000 children now estimated to be eligible by the Scottish Fiscal Commission.
Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government was "proactively promoting" the payment and had written to people on the Universal Credit and HMRC tax credit databases who may be eligible, describing the response as "fantastic".
She said: "We've had a great response and there is a very large number of applications.
"It will take time to work through these applications and I'd like to ask families for their patience while we work as quickly as we can to process these."
Ms Somerville added that the payment, announced in June 2019, was the most "ambitious anti-poverty measure" currently being undertaken in the UK.
The new payment is additional to the UK government's child benefit.
"payment" - Google News
February 15, 2021 at 05:16PM
https://ift.tt/3jRXxWN
New Scottish Child Payment benefit begins - BBC News
"payment" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bV4HFe
https://ift.tt/2VYfp89
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "New Scottish Child Payment benefit begins - BBC News"
Post a Comment