What is Best Start Grant? Am I eligible if pregnant or taking care of a young child? How do I apply? You could be eligible and receive payments for your pregnancy, your or your child’s health. This Your Benefits article will walk you through everything you need to know about Best Start Grant, and how you may receive it if eligible.

What is Best Start Grant?

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods are benefits that you may receive from being pregnant or looking after a child and living in Scotland. Both these benefits are intended to help someone with the costs that both these conditions may impose.

Best Start Foods is slightly different. It consists of a prepaid card that can be used to buy healthy foods like milk or fruit in shops or online. How much you receive may depend on how far along you are in your pregnancy, or how old your child is. More details in the table below.

You apply for both these benefits with the same form. This is to maximize how much aid you are able to receive without having to make multiple applications. However, you will receive a separate letter for each benefit. Additionally, if you are eligible for one benefit now but not another, you will need to fill a new form to apply in the future.

Best Start Grant eligibility

You may apply for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods if all of the following apply to your situation:

• You reside in Scotland;
• Your partner or yourself already receive certain benefits or tax credits (more details below);
• Note that you do not need to already be receiving benefits if you are under the age of 18;
• Either you or your partner are pregnant or are looking after a baby or child;
• The baby or child needs to be under 3 years old.

If you are a parent over the age of 18, your working conditions will not affect your eligibility. However, you will have to be receiving one of the following benefits:

• Child Tax Credit;
• Universal Credit;
• Working Tax Credit (to receive Best Start Foods, you will also need to receive Child Tax Credit);
• Housing Benefit;
• Income Support;
• Pension Credit;
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA);
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

You will not be eligible for either Best Start Grant or Best Start Credit if you only receive Child Benefit. Additionally, you must be receiving one or more of the benefits above at the time of your application. However, if you have applied for but have not received any of these benefits, you might still be eligible

Although your income will not impact your eligibility for Best Start Grant, some Best Start Foods benefits do have an income limit.

What am I eligible for at the time of my application?

How far along you are in your pregnancy or the age of your baby will affect the benefits you are eligible for.

How do I apply for Best Start Grant and Best Start Food? As said before, you may receive multiple benefits at one time. For example, if you apply at the 30th week of your pregnancy, you may be eligible for both Best Start Foods and Best Start Grant: Pregnancy and Baby Payment. You may also be eligible for other benefits later on, but you will need to send an application again.

What do I need for my Best Start Grant application?

In order to apply for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, you will need the following information:

• Your name, date of birth and address;
• The name and date of birth of your partner (if you have one);
• The details of any children you are responsible for;
• Your National Insurance Number;
• The details of your bank, credit union or building society.

If you do not currently have a bank account, you can set one up. However, if you do not want to do so, you will be able to receive Best Start Grant the same way you receive other benefits. To do so, call Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm.

How can I apply for Best Start Grant?

You may do your application online, by phone or by post. Additionally, you can also apply in a language other than english. You may apply online on the mygov.scot website.

Note that you cannot apply online if one of the following applies to you, you:

• Are 18 or 19 and receive benefits through your parent or carer;
• Do not have a permanent address;
• You have not created a bank account and receive benefits with the help of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP);
• You are applying on behalf of someone else.

If any of these apply to you, you will have to phone for your application. More details below. If you believe that you are eligible for online applications, you may apply.

If you want to apply by post, you will need to fill a paper form. In fact, to receive a pre-paid envelope to send your application, you can request one from Social Security Scotland by phone at 0800 182 2222.

If you wish to apply in a language other than english, call 0800 182 2222. Social Security Scotland will allow you to apply over the phone in over 100 languages. If you wish to apply by post, you can request to be sent a form in over 100 languages.

I applied, what happens now?

You may be requested to send additional documents after you have applied. Such documents might include the copy of a certificate, a legal order or a letter from your local authority. If this is your situation, you will need to send these documents before Social Security Scotland finishes processing your application. 

To send your documents online, you may upload them online on the Scottish Government website. If you wish to send them by post, you can do so at the following address: 

Social Security Scotland
PO Box 10300
Dundee
DD1 9FU

Make sure that you have paid your postage correctly before sending the copies of your documents. Make sure they are copies, as it may take a long time for Social Security Scotland to return original documents. You must also write the following information on each of them:

• Your full name;
• ‘Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods’ (you must write the following even if applying for Scottish Child Payments);
• Your date of birth;
• Your National Insurance number (if you know or have access to it).

What else should I know?

Once you applied to Best Start Grant, you will get it within 7 days of receiving your confirmation letter. If you are confirmed to receive your Best Start Foods card, you will get it within 6 days of receiving your confirmation letter.