RED TAPE WRANGLE THREATENS DELAY TO £10 CHILD PAYMENT

Scottish and UK governments locked in dispute over sharing claimants' data

- PAUL HUTCHEON

A LIFELINE £10-a-week benefit payment for hard-pressed families is at risk over a deal on sharing information between the Scottish and UK governments.

The flagship Scottish Child Payment cannot be delivered fully until both governments reach an agreement on sharing data between the Scottish benefits agency and the UK Department for Work and Pensions.

The payment is already given to under sixes in Scotland and is a flagship policy in the SNP government's bid to reduce child poverty.

It is scheduled to be rolled out to children aged six to 15 by the end of next year - but the failure to agree a data sharing deal could delay the vital payouts.

About 410,000 under 16s in 250,000 households will be eligible for the benefit.

Now calls have been made for the data row to be sorted before these parents lose out.