THE Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area's two MSPs are backing a new anti child poverty move with could see an estimated 13,300 children across Fife benefit.

Annabelle Ewing and Jenny Gilruth have welcomed what they described as the Scottish Government’s game changing and ground-breaking anti-poverty payment.

The Scottish Child Payment will be worth £10 per child for low-income families by the end of 2022, with introduction for under-6s starting by early 2021.

Latest figures from the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimate that 194,000 children aged under six in Scotland will be eligible for the new Scottish Child Payment – with around 13,300 children and families estimated to benefit in Fife and many from the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area.

The brand new benefit was described as a “game changer” and a “lifeline” by anti-poverty campaigners and is central to the Scottish Government's ambitions to tackle child poverty.

Annabelle Ewing, MSP for the Cowdenbeath Constituency, said: “The Scottish Child Payment is an ambitious and ground-breaking new benefit which will directly tackle child poverty across the country.

“This support is needed more than ever, and when this additional £10 per week per child becomes available in February, it will be a lifeline for many such families."

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth said: “This game changing move will help reduce financial pressures and demonstrates the potential of social security to make a positive difference and reflect our society’s shared values of compassion and fairness.

“Tory cuts are driving too many families in Fife into poverty – but the SNP is determined to use every power at our disposal to help families make ends meet.”

An estimated 194,000 children nationwide will be eligible for the new £10 weekly Scottish Child Payment when it goes live next February.

To help manage demand, families will be invited to apply in advance of the benefit being introduced. Parents will be able to apply by post, phone and online.

In an additional move to assist families, Best Start Grant payments, Best Start Foods and the new Scottish Child Payment will all be available through a single application - making it more straightforward for people to access the money they are entitled to.