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Who can get a pregnancy and baby payment

To get a pregnancy and baby payment, you must:

  • normally live in Scotland - read more about the ‘residence requirements’
  • be pregnant or looking after a young baby
  • be getting a ‘qualifying benefit’ or be aged under 18
  • claim at the right time

Pregnant or looking after a young baby

You can claim if you or your partner is more than 24 weeks pregnant or has had a baby in the last 6 months.  You cannot qualify for the pregnancy and baby payment if you have received a Sure Start Maternity Grant for the same child.

You may also be able to claim if you have started caring for a baby under one as a kinship carer or if you have adopted a baby aged under one.

Usually only one pregnancy and baby payment can be made for a child but this may not apply if you start caring for a baby under one as a kinship carer or you are adopting a baby aged under one.

Getting a ‘qualifying benefit’

If you are aged under 18 you can get a pregnancy and baby payment even if you are not on a benefit and no matter what income you have. If you could not apply before you turned 18 because of disruption caused by the coronavirus, your application can still be accepted.

If you are aged 18 or 19 and someone else still gets benefits for looking after you, you can get a pregnancy and baby payment if the person who cares for you gets:

  • child benefit
  • child tax credit
  • universal credit
  • pension credit

You must still be included in their claim, for example as you are under 19 and still at school.

If you are 18 or over and claiming benefits yourself, you'll get a pregnancy and baby payment if you or your partner get any of the following benefits:

  • universal credit
  • income support
  • income-based jobseeker’s allowance
  • income-related employment and support allowance
  • pension credit
  • housing benefit
  • child tax credit
  • working tax credit

You can be entitled if you were getting universal credit within the last month but it has now stopped.

Read more about the qualifying benefit rules and what happens if your benefit has been cut.

Claim at the right time

You can claim any time from when you or your partner are 25 weeks pregnant up until your baby is 6 months old. If you start caring for a baby aged under one as a kinship carer or adopt a baby under one you can claim up to the baby’s first birthday. If your claim is late, it can be treated as if it was made in time if you missed the deadline due to the coronavirus outbreak.

How much is pregnancy and baby payment

The pregnancy and baby payment is £754.65 if you have no other children living with you, or usually £377.35 if you have any older dependent children under 16. A child counts as dependent if you get child benefit, child tax credit, universal credit or pension credit for that child. There is an exception to this rule in some circumstances. You will get the higher amount if you have an older dependent child aged under 16 but,

  • you have refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under the Afghanistan resettlement schemes or the Ukrainian resettlement schemes and your older child was born before you arrived in the UK
  • your older child or children are not your birth child/children and you took responsibility for them when they were more than 12 months old
  • you have been forced to  leave your home with older child/children due to domestic abuse

If you have twins or triplets

If you have no other dependent children under 16, you get £754.65 for one baby, £377.35 for any other baby in the same birth. You also get a £377.35 multiple pregnancy supplement. For example, if you have twins and you have no other dependent children under 16, you will get £754.65 for one baby, £377.35 for the other baby and £377.35 multiple birth supplement - £1,509.35 in total.

Claiming a pregnancy and baby payment

To claim you can:

  • phone Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222
  • claim online at mygov.scot
  • download a paper application form from mygov.scot

If you disagree with the decision made by Social Security Scotland you can challenge this decision.

If you adopt a baby aged under one, or become a kinship carer of a baby aged under one, you may be able to claim a pregnancy and baby payment, even if another person has already received a pregnancy and baby payment for the same child.

Adopting a baby or becoming a kinship carer

Adopting a baby

If you adopt a baby aged under one, or if a baby under one is placed with you for adoption you can get a pregnancy and baby payment if you satisfy the normal rules.

You can claim any time up to your baby’s first birthday.

You can get the payment even if someone else has already received a pregnancy and baby payment for the same child.

Becoming a kinship carer

If you become a kinship carer for a baby aged under one you can get a pregnancy and baby payment if you satisfy the normal rules and you have a kinship care order for the baby, or you are caring for a child who is ‘looked after’ by the local authority, or the baby is included in your child benefit, child tax credit, universal credit or pension credit claim, or you are the baby’s guardian.

You can claim any time up to your baby’s first birthday. If your claim is late, it can be treated as if it was made in time if you missed the deadline due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

You can get the payment even if someone else has already received a pregnancy and baby payment for the same child, as long as that person was not your partner when they applied, and the child is not living with that person when you apply.

More information

For in-depth information about the Best Start grant, see chapter 74 of the Welfare benefit and tax credits handbook. You'll need a subscription to log in and read the content. 

Read the Best Start grant regulations on legislation.gov.uk.