Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment

Social Security Scotland introduced the Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment in December 2018 which replaced the UK Government’s Sure Start Maternity Grant.

From November 2022 eligibility criteria is widening to include new groups of people who already have one child.

Am I Eligible for the Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment?

You will be eligible for the Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment if:

• Either you or your partner is pregnant, or you have a new baby in the household
• Responsible for a child
• Claim between the period of the end of 24 weeks pregnant up until your baby is 6 months old
• If you have taken over looking after a child such as through adoption you can apply up to the day before the child’s first birthday

If you are aged 18 or 19 you can get the pregnancy and baby payment if the person who cares for you receives either child benefit, child tax credit, universal credit, or pension credit.

If you are aged 18 or over, you or your partner must be claiming one of the following qualifying benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

If you have surpassed the age limit for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment due to the coronavirus pandemic be sure to let Social Security Scotland know.

If your child was born prematurely, you can apply earlier, and the baby can have been born before or during the 24^th week of the pregnancy.

You can also get a Pregnancy and Baby Payment if your baby was stillborn after the 24^th week of pregnancy.

Widening Eligibility for Best Start Higher Pregnancy and Baby Payment

The higher rate of Pregnancy and Baby Payment will be made eligible to the following people who already have one child:

• An individual granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under the Afghanistan resettlement schemes or the Ukraine resettlement schemes who has a child from before they arrived in the UK.
• Parents/carers who took on responsibility for a child who was not their own when that child was more than 12 months old
• Parents/carers who have been forced to leave their home with a child due to domestic abuse by their partner or ex-partner.

Applications are being accepted from the 14^{th of} November 2022 with online and paper forms available from the 6^th December 2022.

How Can I Apply for the Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment?

If you are looking to apply for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment you can apply for any of the grants by either filling out the form online, over the phone or via the post.

To be eligible to apply online you will need to have a permanent address, be over the age of 18, have a bank account and apply for your own application.

If you want to apply via phone, you can call Social Security Scotland for free on 0800 182 2222.

When applying you should have the following information readily available so that you can complete the application:

• Your name, date of birth and address
• National Insurance Number
• Bank, Credit Union, or Building Society Account Details
• If you have a partner, their name and date of birth
• Details of any children you have or care for

If you have been asked to send any documents to Social Security Scotland, you can do this by either uploading documents online or sending them in the post.

How Much is the Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment?

The Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment provides a one-off £707.25 for those with one child and a payment of £353.65 for a subsequent child.

The Pregnancy and Baby payment can be used to buy any essential baby items you need such as baby clothes or a pram.

If my Application is Successful, when Can I Expect to receive the payment?

If you are to be awarded the Best Start Pregnancy and Baby Early Years Payment, you will be informed through an award letter sent by Social Security Scotland.

Following receipt of this letter, your award will be paid within the next seven days.