LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES IN EDINBURGH EASTERN TO BENEFIT FROM EARLY PAYMENT

SNP MSP Ash Denham has welcomed the announcement that the first payments of the Best Start Grant will be delivered to families in Edinburgh Eastern in time for Christmas.

The Best Start Grant – which provides low-income families with financial support during the early years of a child’s life – will see eligible applicants receive £600 for their first child, £100 more than the UK government’s equivalent in England.

Best Start Grants replace and expand on the UK Government’s Sure Start Maternity Grant by providing eligible families with £600 on the birth of their first child and £300 on the birth of any subsequent children.

Ash Denham said:

“I am delighted that families in [area] will be eligible for their first payments of the Best Start Grant in time for Christmas. These new payments will ensure that our under 5’s get the best possible start in life.

“It’s vital that the SNP government can provide help at a time when families in Edinburgh are seeing UK government social security support drastically reduced, and Universal Credit is causing hardship across Scotland.

“By reversing and mitigating the Tory cuts that have been so damaging to families in Edinburgh, and ensuring that we support those on the lowest incomes, the SNP are building a social security system based on dignity and respect.