Glossary · UK
What is Best Start Grant?
A series of one-off, tax-free payments from Social Security Scotland to help low-income families with the costs of pregnancy, a new baby, and early years and school-age expenses.
Full Definition
The Best Start Grant is a set of three one-off, tax-free payments made by Social Security Scotland to families on qualifying low-income benefits (such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit or income-based benefits) at different stages of a child's early life: a Pregnancy and Baby Payment for a first or subsequent child, an Early Learning Payment when the child is around two to three years old, and a School Age Payment around the time the child starts primary school. It sits alongside the separate Best Start Foods payment card, which helps with the cost of healthy food during pregnancy and for children under three, and Scottish Child Payment, which is an ongoing weekly payment rather than a one-off grant. Because Best Start Grant is a devolved Scottish benefit, it is only available to families living in Scotland and is administered entirely separately from equivalent UK-wide provisions such as the Sure Start Maternity Grant that applies in the rest of the UK; the exact payment amounts are uprated periodically, so check the current rates on mygov.scot rather than relying on a fixed figure. Payments do not need to be repaid and do not affect entitlement to other benefits.