Investing in children: early findings on the difference the Scottish Child Payment makes to family finances and child wellbeing

Recent years have seen a divergence in welfare in Scotland compared to other UK nations. However, in Scotland a significantly different approach has been adopted. The Scottish Government has used its devolved powers on social security to introduce a package of five family payments, the centrepiece of which is the new Scottish Child Payment (SCP). Introduced in February 2021, and increased in value on two occasions since then, this benefit provides £27.15 per week for each child under 16 living in a low-income household. This policy aims to significantly cut Scotland’s child poverty rate and has led to a wide gap between the support provided to families with dependent children north and south of the border. In this article, we share emergent findings from a mixed-methods research programme, which is exploring the impact of the SCP in comparative perspective. We share early evidence from both qualitative and quantitative analysis, both of which share the strategy of comparing families receiving the payment in Scotland to comparable families living in England (or in all other UK nations). The qualitative evidence comes from interviews with families in both Scotland and England, while the quantitative evidence comes from a comparison of measures of poverty (child material deprivation and household food insecurity) in Scotland and England, before and after the rollout of the SCP. We reflect on the difference the SCP makes to family finances and child wellbeing and the implications of this payment for children’s long-term outcomes.