Why it’s time to raise the Scottish Child Payment

Right now, the UK’s social security system is failing. It should be a lifeline for families in tough times, but it falls woefully short. Families relying on this support are barely scraping by, with too many children trapped in hardship.

No one in Scotland should have to struggle to put food on the table or to access other basic essentials.

The Scottish Child Payment, an entitlement that is only available in Scotland, is one of the most effective tools we have to help reduce child poverty, . And the evidence shows that it has already loosened poverty’s grip for thousands of children across the country, with a lower child poverty rate in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.

But at £27.15 per child per week, it’s simply not enough. The cost-of-living crisis hasn’t gone away, and every month, costs continue to rise. This means that without further action, progress on reducing child poverty is likely to stall.

That’s why, as part of the End Chid Poverty campaign in Scotland, we’re calling for the Scottish Child Payment to increase to £40 per child per week: a bold, but realistic and affordable step that would make a real difference to those who need it most.

Next week’s Programme for Government is the First Minister’s last before the Scottish election next year. This is his final chance to turn his welcome promise to prioritise reducing child poverty into the faster progress that’s required to meet the legal child poverty targets.

Of course, tackling child poverty takes more than one policy. We need to invest in the full range of actions needed to end child poverty for good full range of actions needed to end child poverty for good, and that means raising more money through fairer taxes on income and wealth, both at UK and Scottish level.

Poverty is a political choice. So is whether we fully fund the fight against it.

Read our briefing for the Scottish Government’s 2025-26 Programme for Government here.