1. Best Start Grant (BSG)

2. What is the BSG?
The Scotland Act 2016 devolved new social security powers to Scotland. One of the powers which has been devolved allows for an equivalent of the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) to be provided. Scottish Ministers are using this power to create a form of assistance referred to as Early Years Assistance in the Social Security (Scotland) Bill. This will be delivered in the form of a new benefit called the Best Start Grant (BSG)
The policy objectives of the BSG cash payments are to improve children’s wellbeing and life chances by providing support to lower income families at key transition points in the early years. The BSG will replace the SSMG in Scotland by Summer 2019
The Scottish Government will integrate the administrative systems of Healthy Start (HS) food vouchers (part of Welfare Foods) into the BSG

3. Devolution of Welfare Foods
Consultation running from 5 April to 28 June
Includes proposals to improve the:
Healthy Start Scheme: provides vouchers to pregnant women and families on low incomes to purchase affordable nutritious food; and vitamins, for children and women (pregnancy & after birth).
Nursery Milk Scheme: entitles children under 5 to receive a drink of fresh cow’s milk in childcare, with infant formula for under 1s.

4. Welfare Foods proposals for Scotland
Healthy Start Vouchers will become Best Start Foods:
Application process will be linked with Best Start Grant
Move to digital smartcard instead of paper vouchers to make it easier for families and retailers
Payments will increase (£3.10 to £4.25 a week)
Benefit duration will stop at age 3 instead of 4 to link with time free childcare starts (but still £112 more overall)
Families will have a greater choice of foods to purchase: now including eggs, tinned fruit, veg & pulses (also dried pulses)
Nursery Milk:
Will continue in Scotland with proposal to add Healthy Snack offer in childcare

5. Policy Aims of BSG
In conjunction with other SG policy in early years, the support is intended to contribute to improving outcomes for children, including reducing health inequalities and closing the attainment gap: Maternity and New Baby Payment - £600 for a first child and £300 for any subsequent child - will help with expenses in pregnancy or of having a new child, for example a pram or additional heating. This lessens the financial burden on lower income families when they are expecting or have a new child. Nursery/Early Learning Payment - £250 – will help with costs during early learning years to support child development, for example travel costs to nursery, changes of clothes for messy play, trips out and toys for home learning. School Payment - £250 – will help with the costs of preparing for primary school, for example a school bag, educational toys, after school activities such as swimming or football, or helping with the cost of school milk or school trips. Best Start Food - provides vouchers to pregnant women and families on low incomes to purchase affordable nutritious food; and vitamins, for children and women (pregnancy & after birth).

6. Increased Investment
The birth payment to the first child will increase from £500 under SSMG to £600
We will introduce a £300 birth payments for second and subsequent children
We will introduce two new payments of £250, per child, at key transitions points in the early years
Current estimates are of a total cost of £18m, £15m of which will be additional investment by SG (estimated transfer from UKG of £3m for SSMG). *Based on 72.5% take up
Estimated number of payments is 58,000

7. The support is intended to contribute to improving outcomes for children, including reducing health inequalities and closing the attainment gap: Maternity and New Baby Payment - £600 for a first child and £300 for any subsequent child - will help with expenses in pregnancy or of having a new child, for example a pram or additional heating. This lessens the financial burden on lower income families when they are expecting or have a new child. Nursery/Early Learning Payment - £250 – will help with costs during nursery and early learning years to support child development, for example travel costs, changes of clothes for messy play, trips out and toys for home learning. School Payment - £250 – will help with the costs of preparing for primary school, for example a school bag, educational toys, after school activities such as swimming or football, or helping with the cost of school milk or school trips.

8. Eligibility for BSG Cash Payments
(a) The application is received within the relevant application window
(b) No equivalent payment of an SSMG or BSG has been or is due to be made
(c) The applicant is habitually resident in Scotland, and is entitled to be living in Scotland
(d) The applicant is, or is the partner of, someone who is going to or has had a baby, or meets the responsibility test for the child by reason other than being a biological parent
(e) The applicant meets the test for financial circumstances

9. Life events which trigger a payment/Application windows:
The application date must be in the relevant window but it can fall at any point in that window. For the Maternity and New Baby Grant this is between the mother reaching 24 weeks of pregnancy to 6 months after the birth of child. Where there is a change of responsibility for the child during the first year of its life (for example where a child is adopted), the window is extended until midnight on the day before the child’s first birthday.
For the Nursery and Early Learning Payment, the application window is the day of the child’s second birthday to 6 months after its third birthday.
For the School Age Payment the application window is the 1st of June in the year that the child would ordinarily start school (start of Autumn term) until the end of February in the year following the date of ordinarily starting school.

10. Financial Circumstances
BSG payments will be made to people who have been correctly awarded a qualifying DWP or HMRC payment, people who are dependent on someone who has been awarded a qualifying payment or who are under the age of 18. Qualifying payments are:
income support
income based job seekers allowance
income related employment support allowance
pension credit
any tax credit
universal credit (UC) award of more than £0 in the month before or, in the case of new applicants, the month in which the application is made
housing benefit

11. Who will be affected by the BSG?
Under proposed eligibility, BSG will reach:
Almost 90% of people in the bottom three income deciles, both in and out of work
97% of workless households
More than 80% of households with no full time work (i.e. one or more working part time)
Potentially more than 90% of lone parent households
More than half of families with three or more children

12. Consultation
We launched a consultation on the BSG regulations in March (responses due by 15th June). There are a couple of areas I’d like to ask your thoughts on and then I’d be happy to take any questions you have on the BSG.

13. Responsibility test
There are two alternative responsibility tests set out in the consultation:
1) receipt of Child Benefit and, where relevant, a care order; or
2) a test based on receipt of either Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit, or Child Benefit.
Which is your preferred test, test 1 or test 2?

14. Young Parents
We have proposed that in cases where the parent is under the age of 16, or is 18 or 19 and the grandparent (or another carer) is still in receipt of tax credit or UC because the parent is in training or non- advanced education, the grandparent or carer will be the eligible person.
Do you agree with this approach?

15. Any questions?
Thank you and I’d encourage you to respond to the BSG Consultation which can be found on the Scottish Government webpage.