Why some families miss out on Scottish child payment and other benefits
CPAG Scotland’s Strengthening Social Security project has published its first briefing, Scottish Child Payment: The Gaps. This briefing is the first step in highlighting the diverse and complex reasons why families miss out on Scottish child payment in ways that policy makers never intended.
Findings
Using case evidence from our Early Warning System since the start of 2022, the briefing found that:
Some eligible families do not get certain benefits
Some families are not receiving universal credit (UC) or Scottish child payment (SCP) despite being eligible. In some cases, families cannot, or choose not to, apply. We found that this is a particular issue for families who receive a UC managed migration notice. Other families are not receiving Scottish child payment due to incorrect UC or SCP decision making.
Some low-income families are not eligible
Some families were not eligible for UC or SCP, despite being on a low income. Lots of families in very different circumstances fall into this group, such as:
- families in temporary or supported accommodation
- mothers getting maternity allowance who may also be in temporary accommodation
- kinship carers
- students
- people with different immigration status’ from abroad
Fluctuating incomes mean households lose entitlement
Fluctuating incomes in a household can lead to some families losing UC entitlement, which then affects their Scottish child payment eligibility.
Some families cannot provide evidence to support their claim
We found that, despite being responsible for a child, some families struggle to supply the evidence needed to demonstrate responsibility for the purposes of claiming Scottish child payment.
Recommendations
The briefing makes a set of initial recommendations for how Scottish child payment could be changed to increase access for currently marginalised families. We've shared the briefing with decision makers within Social Security Scotland, the Social Justice and Social Security Committee and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Next steps
Building on the briefing findings, the project team have spent six weeks interviewing welfare rights advisers from frontline organisations across Scotland. Through these interviews, we're continuing to learn about the policy gaps and process issues affecting families’ ability to claim Scottish child payment in sustainable ways. We'll share these findings over the next few months before we begin working with families to better understand their experiences of accessing Scottish child payment and ideas for change.