Publication: Tackling child poverty: Scottish Child Payment - Audit scope

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set statutory targets for the Scottish Government to significantly reduce child poverty in Scotland by 2030/31. The Scottish Government has developed a series of policies aimed at tackling child poverty which include expanding access to childcare for families, parental employability support and increasing household income through the Scottish Child Payment (SCP).

The SCP was launched in February 2021 as a devolved social security benefit. Administered by Social Security Scotland, the SCP currently provides eligible households with a weekly payment of £27.15 per child. Since its launch the SCP has paid over £1.4bn to eligible families to support 320,000 children.

This audit will assess how well the SCP has been delivered, whether the SCP remains sustainable going forward and what impact the SCP is having.