AT LEAST 8,715 CHILDREN IN FIFE TO BENEFIT FROM DOUBLING OF SCOTTISH CHILD PAYMENT
Published date : 01 Dec 2021
MSP WELCOMES DOUBLING OF SCOTTISH CHILD PAYMENT
For immediate release
SNP MSP, Jenny Gilruth, has welcomed the First Minister’s announcement that the Scottish Child Payment will be doubled from April 2022.
The announcement will see at least 8,715 eligible children across Fife receiving £20 per week per child from spring next year, with more than 106,000 children across Scotland immediately benefitting from the increased payment.
Since the launch of the Scottish Government payment on 15 February 2021, £2,409,940 has been issued in payments to families in Fife.
It is now expected that over 400,000 children could be eligible for the doubled payment by the end 2022, which is when the benefit, which is unique in the UK, will be extended to children under the age of 16.
Commenting SNP MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Jenny Gilruth said:
“I am delighted that at least 8,715 children across Fife will have their Scottish Child Payment doubled in just four months time. This will give £20 per child per week to 8,715 children in Fife – four times the amount originally demanded by campaigners.
“The Scottish Government’s national mission to tackle child poverty is absolute – with £2,409,940 having been provided to families across Fife since February, and almost £32 million across Scotland as a whole.
“The doubling of the Scottish Child Payment to £20 is the type of bold action that makes a real difference to people’s lives and shows how focussed the Scottish Government is on meeting Scotland’s Child Poverty targets.
“Once again, the tale of two governments is striking. While the SNP are doubling the Scottish Child Payment to lift thousands of children out of poverty, the Tories at Westminster have just cut £20 per week from many of the same families – knowingly pushing thousands of families into poverty.
“The people in Fife deserve the chance to escape the damaging policies we get under Westminster control and get the chance to choose a better path, one with the full powers that an independent Scotland would bring and allow us to build a fairer society.”
ENDS
NOTES
Tables from Scottish Child Payment: high level statistics to 30 September 2021
Local Authority
Authorised applications (f.1)
Value of Payments (f.2)
Aberdeen City
3,650
£ 1,016,850
Aberdeenshire
3,070
£ 868,400
Angus
2,285
£ 657,010
Argyll and Bute
1,350
£ 400,870
Clackmannanshire
1,245
£ 345,000
Dumfries and Galloway
3,015
£ 856,080
Dundee City
3,850
£ 1,070,360
East Ayrshire
3,480
£ 947,190
East Dunbartonshire
1,195
£ 336,030
East Lothian
1,955
£ 535,800
East Renfrewshire
1,065
£ 301,670
Edinburgh, City of
7,555
£ 2,036,820
Falkirk
3,405
£ 953,160
Fife
8,715
£ 2,409,940
Glasgow City
18,965
£ 5,169,420
Highland
3,905
£ 1,103,650
Inverclyde
1,855
£ 501,750
Midlothian
2,120
£ 595,900
Moray
1,565
£ 445,440
Na h-Eileanan Siar
310
£ 94,110
North Ayrshire
3,810
£ 1,026,910
North Lanarkshire
9,195
£ 2,486,360
Orkney Islands
230
£ 66,790
Perth and Kinross
2,405
£ 678,890
Renfrewshire
3,715
£ 1,018,470
Scottish Borders
2,005
£ 570,370
Shetland Islands
230
£ 65,900
South Ayrshire
2,235
£ 618,800
South Lanarkshire
6,745
£ 1,885,710
Stirling
1,290
£ 361,650
West Dunbartonshire
2,635
£ 713,980
West Lothian
4,280
£ 1,143,880
Unknown – Scottish address
135
£ 34,850
Non-Scottish postcode
230
£ 57,830
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