Campaigners call for £10 per child UK Budget boost to child benefit

New analysis shows £10 increase would lift over 20,000 children out of poverty and add £320m to the Scottish economy.

Speaking ahead of today’s (Wednesday 28th October) UK Budget, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says government in Westminster as well as at Holyrood must invest further in social security for families. 

The campaigners highlight that UK child benefit is worth £5 per week less than it was in 2010, following austerity era cuts and freezes.  

New CPAG analysis finds that a £10 per week increase in child benefit would lift over 20,000 children out of poverty in Scotland alone (400 000 across the UK as a whole), and put an additional £320m into the Scottish economy as families would become better able to buy the things their children need for a decent childhood. 

Investment at Holyrood in Scottish child payment has already contributed to a significant fall in child poverty since 2021, despite child poverty across the UK rising to record highs (see Note below).  Yet one in five children in Scotland remain locked in poverty. 

Commenting on the findings the Director of CPAG in Scotland, John Dickie, said: 

‘Too many children across the UK are still paying the highest possible price for poverty. They face worse health and education outcomes and lower life expectancy than their better off peers. But there’s also an economic cost that falls on the country as a whole.  Scotland deserves better.  We need both our UK and Scottish governments boosting social security to prevent this avoidable poverty. Today’s Budget offers the Chancellor an opportunity to invest in child benefit, provide more opportunity for families and put new money into the Scottish economy.’ 

ENDS

Note to editors: 

• The local economy benefit from increasing child benefit by £10 a week is calculated by using UKMOD B1.16 to calculate the national cost of increasing child benefit by £10 a week, and then apportioning this figure to different areas, by using the number of child benefit recipients (and the number of benefit capped households (as they will not benefit from a rise in child benefit) in each area.  More detailed analysis is not available due to data constraints. 
• The child poverty impact of increasing child benefit by £10 a week is calculated by using UKMOD B1.16 to calculate the UK impact of increasing child benefit by £10 a week, and then apportioning this figure to different nations and regions, based on the number of children in poverty in each area. More detailed analysis is not available due to data constraints. 
• Child benefit has risen in line with inflation since 2020 but was frozen between 2010 and 2014, increased below inflation between 2014 and 2016 and frozen again between 2016 and 2020, leaving it worth £5 a week less today in real terms (for the first child) than it was in 2010.   
• Official UK and Scottish government statistics show child poverty in Scotland fell from 250 000 in 2020-23 to 210 000 in 2022-25. This amounts to a substantial four percentage point (40 000 children) reduction https://www.gov.scot/publications/poverty-and-income-inequality-in-scotland-2022-25/pages/4-children/ over the period Scottish child payment was rolled out. 

CPAG in Scotland media contact: John Dickie 07795 340 618