Campaigners have warned the Scottish Government 125,000 children will miss out on a vital anti-poverty payment.
The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said the £520 lifeline will not benefit tens of thousands of kids due to eligibility rules.
Labour MSP Pam Ducan-Glancy blasted: “It cannot be beyond the Scottish Government to urgently get this payment to those who need it and they need to explore every means of doing so.”
Nicola Sturgeon ’s flagship social justice policy is the Scottish Child Payment, which gives families from low income households £10 a week.
It is currently being paid for eligible children under six and the Government intends to widen it to under-16s by the end of 2022.
During the Holyrood election, the SNP promised a £520 cash grant, paid across four quarterly instalments, to families before the full rollout of the SCP.
However, CPAG has flagged up concerns about linking the special payment to free school meals eligibility.
In a report, they wrote: “As these payments are currently only for those entitled to free school meals they do not reach all families who will become entitled to the Scottish child payment.
“This misses around 125,000 children.”
John Dickie of CPAG told the Record: “The Scottish child payment really is a game changer and the government’s commitment to ensuring children get equivalent cash support until it is fully rolled out is hugely welcome, but as it stands these interim payments leave tens of thousands of children behind.”
He called for the Government to extend the entitlement to children whose families receive universal credit.
Duncan-Glancy, who is Labour’s social security spokesperson, added: “There are 260,000 children living in poverty in Scotland right now and the Scottish Government should be working hard and fast to fix this.
“Instead, they have failed to make sure children in Scotland get the money they need, leaving nearly 125,000 children without support.
“The focus of both governments right now should be to relentlessly protect people from poverty and until they both start doing that, they are both failing us all.”
The SNP Government has set a target to reduce child poverty to 18% by 2023-24 and to 10% by 2030-31.
All parties at Holyrood have committed to doubling the SCP by the end of the current term.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Tackling child poverty is a national mission for this government, which is why we are investing £77 million on a year through our bridging payments.
“This £520-a-year will provide immediate support to around 145,000 children and young people from low income families.
“It comes ahead of the roll out the Scottish Child Payment to all under-16s by the end of 2022, subject to the necessary data being made available by DWP.
“We introduced the Scottish Child Payment for all under-6s in February and tens of thousands of families are benefitting through this anti-poverty measure.”
