Website crash shows importance of Scottish Child Payment- Sturgeon

The archetypal curate has said the "exceptional demand" which crashed the website for radical applying for the caller extended Scottish Child Payment highlights however important the strategy is.

Nearly fractional of each children successful Scotland volition payment from the alteration to see children nether 16.

The strategy has antecedently been disposable to low-income families with children nether the property of six.

About 400,000 children are successful families eligible for the £25 play payment.

Claimants were urged to apply online, but a immense surge connected Monday greeting meant radical were temporarily incapable to implicit the exertion form.

The strategy was restored by 12:00.

Nicola Sturgeon said the "initial teething problems" were a wide motion of however galore radical would benefit.

The archetypal curate added: "People volition get entree to this payment which is not disposable anyplace other successful the UK.

"It is being made disposable due to the fact that the Scottish authorities is rightly, wrong truly hard fiscal circumstances, prioritising lifting children retired of poverty."

Social Security Scotland said each disposable unit were utilized to instrumentality telephone applications until the online strategy was backmost up and running.

A spokesperson added: "The instauration oregon enlargement of services is ne'er without risks. We had unit connected manus to show issues and to hole these quickly. This volition proceed passim this week arsenic we expect to spot continued levels of precocious demand."

The alteration to see under-16s, coupled with the outgo expanding from £20 a week to £25, volition spot eligible families person £1,300 a twelvemonth per child.

Single genitor Heather Searle, a enactment idiosyncratic for disabled children, applied archetypal happening connected Monday morning.

She had antecedently qualified for the kid outgo for her 5 year-old Esme-Rose but the hold of the payment means she was capable to adhd Emily, 11 and Alyxs, 12. She told the BBC the outgo has taken a value disconnected her shoulders.

"I'm a azygous parent, financially doing it alone," she said. "The outgo of electricity, nutrient shopping, substance for getting to work, it is each opening to deed hard. I person truly felt it implicit the past six months.

"Everything is getting much costly arsenic the kids get older. And I can't judge the outgo of food."

"It made a monolithic quality with my youngest and this is going to truly marque a large quality with different two.

"Just for day-to-day surviving and not having to interest truthful overmuch each week astir bills.

"It lifts the accent disconnected me. If I'm stressed astir wealth and bills, it affects each of us."

Heather is connected a zero hours declaration and works hours astir her children, truthful she cannot ever enactment much to conscionable rising bills.

She said: "I person to bash that due to the fact that paying for childcare is not a possibility.

"And that is maine arsenic a moving parent. I can't ideate however atrocious it is for those not working."

The Scottish authorities has described the determination arsenic a "game-changing, anti-poverty measure" which could assistance arsenic galore arsenic 50,000 children retired of poverty.

Social information curate Ben Macpherson told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "It's a immense magnitude of households and young radical that are going to payment from this truly ambitious measurement to assistance each of america tackle kid poverty.

"That, of course, is an concern successful gathering a amended and fairer Scotland together.

"The uplift successful the amount, going from £20 per kid per week to £25, volition instantly payment implicit 100,000 children

"And past the hold to under-16s being capable to use for the payment takes it to an estimated 400,00 children who volition beryllium capable to get assistance from this game-changing, anti-poverty measure."

People with children nether 16 tin present apply, whether they are successful enactment oregon not, if they oregon their spouse are getting 1 oregon much of the pursuing benefits:

Social Security Scotland volition besides judge claims from radical named connected 1 of the pursuing benefits:

The authorities is urging radical to apply online oregon by calling Social Security Scotland escaped connected 0800 182 2222.

At the time, it said it was besides providing an other £53m to employment services and creating a caller £15m transitions money to enactment parents into work.

Chris Birt, subordinate manager for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation deliberation tank, described the rollout of the kid outgo payment arsenic "a watershed infinitesimal for tackling poorness successful Scotland" and the remainder of the UK "should instrumentality note".

He said: "At £1,300 per child, per twelvemonth it volition beryllium a invited boost to household budgets that are stretched to breaking constituent already.

"No kid should unrecorded successful poorness truthful determination is intelligibly much to do, but the Scottish authorities should beryllium commended for prioritising walk connected this captious measurement astatine this time.

"But this is not conscionable a outgo of surviving situation measure, it is an enduring concern successful our children."

Sallyann Kelly, main enforcement of the children's foundation Aberlour, welcomed the rollout, which she said "will beryllium a existent assistance to families who are struggling successful Scotland".

However, she called connected the authorities to marque definite the benefits proceed to beryllium felt successful the agelong term.

She said: "We deliberation that the Scottish authorities needs to support a adjacent oculus connected it and marque definite the existent worth of the outgo doesn't fall.

"So we would beryllium urging them to support the outgo increases successful enactment with inflation, due to the fact that the adjacent mates of years are going to beryllium very, precise hard for families successful Scotland."

Other charities person urged the UK authorities to travel the Scottish government's move.

John Dickie, manager of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) successful Scotland, said: "If the Scottish authorities tin marque this benignant of superior concern successful protecting our children from poorness past truthful excessively tin the UK government."

A UK authorities spokeswoman said: "Our precedence volition ever beryllium to enactment the astir susceptible and we recognise that radical are struggling with rising prices, which is wherefore we are protecting millions of those astir successful request with astatine slightest £1,200 of nonstop payments.

"In addition, susceptible families are being supported by the government's household enactment money - which was boosted by £500m - to assistance wage for essentials and latest figures amusement that determination were 200,000 less children successful implicit poorness aft lodging costs compared to 2019/20.

"The UK authorities has besides provided an other £123m for the Scottish authorities to assistance susceptible families astatine their discretion and this is successful summation to the important payment powers they already have."