Parents urged not to miss out on new Scottish Child Payment

Parents are being urged to apply for a new child benefit or face missing out on payments.

The Scottish government said it had received 77,000 applications so far, but 173,000 children are estimated to be eligible.

The £10-a-week Scottish Child Payment is available for each child under six in qualifying families. However, families who fail to apply by 15 February will miss out on some of their entitlement.

You may be able to get Scottish Child Payment if all of the following apply:

• you live in Scotland
• you or your partner are getting certain benefits or payments
• you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who's under 6 years old

You can apply whether you are in work or not, as long as you are getting one or more of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

Money will be given out monthly, beginning in late February once eligibility has been assessed and decisions made. Payments for those who have already applied will be backdated from 15 February. People who apply after that will have their payment calculated from the day their application is submitted.

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.

The total number of eligible families is estimated to be about 138,000.

The payment is being made through Social Security Scotland, which was set up as part of the devolution of more powers to Scotland.

Other benefits devolved from Westminster to Holyrood included Personal Independence Payments, Carer's Allowance and Attendance Allowance.

The new payment is additional to the UK government's child benefi