Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods: Applications
type: Dataset
description: The Best Start Grant includes three types of payment: Pregnancy and Baby Payment (applications taken from 10 December 2018), Early Learning Payment (applications taken from 29 April 2019) and School Age Payment (applications taken from 3 June 2019). Best Start Foods is a recurring four weekly pre-paid card payment, which replaced Healthy Start Vouchers for new claims in Scotland from 12 August 2019. This dataset includes received applications and authorised applications (awards) for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Best Start Foods Payment. Statistics are provided for the last day of the month (e.g. figures for 2019-02 are for applications received or authorised as of 28 February 2019). 'Ratio' figures for applications authorised show the percentage of applications processed by the end of the month that had been authorised (not the percentage of applications received that had been authorised). Further information on application, processing times, re-determinations and appeals can be found in the associated [publication](https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/2026/05/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-statistics-to-31-march-2026). Information on payments can be found in the [Best Start Grant: Payments](https://statistics.gov.scot/data/best-start-grant-expenditure) dataset.
issued: 2026-08-13T14:54:43.560292
modified: 2026-08-13T14:55:55.647480
version notes: Revisions and corrections to previously published statistics are dealt with in accordance with the Scottish Government Statistician Group corporate policy statement on revisions and corrections - a copy of which is available on the [Scottish Government website](https://www.gov.scot/publications/producing-official-statistics/pages/revisions-and-corrections).
contact point: Kind
contact point: Organization
theme: Economic Activity, Benefits and Tax Credits
accuracy: 1) Rounding and disclosure control Application and outcome figures have been rounded to the nearest five for disclosure control. Data has been suppressed where it would disclose fewer than five applications. 2) Missing and duplicate applications The data comes from 100% data cut of the case management system. The data cut contained a small proportion of applications where the fields relating to application date and the outcome and payment of the application were blank. These applications represent temporary 'prospect cases', which are created when clients contact Social Security Scotland without a National Insurance number, and are later replaced once a National Insurance number is received from the applicant. These applications are therefore duplicates and have been excluded from the statistics. Clients can make multiple applications for different components of Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods over time, or may make repeated applications for the same component, for example if their first application is denied. This means that there can be several applications in the data cut from the same client. For this publication we have retained all these applications. 3) Geography Applications are assigned to local authority and health board by postcode using a Scottish Government lookup file. For some applications, the postcode will not match to the lookup file. This can be because the postcode is not in a Scottish local authority, or because the postcode has been introduced too recently to appear on the lookup file, for example if a property is in a new development. For postcodes that could not be matched to a Scottish local authority or health board, the postcode area was used to check whether the postcode was in Scotland or elsewhere. Following these checks on postcodes, in this publication a small number of applications and payments could not be matched to a local authority or health board. Figures for the applications and payments that did not match to Scottish loc…
comment: Received applications and authorised applications (awards) for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Best Start Foods Payment
completeness: Further information on application, processing times, redeterminations and appeals can be found in the associated [publication](https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/2026/02/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-statistics-to-31-december-2025)
confidentiality: Figures have been rounded to the nearest five for disclosure control. Some values are missing from this dataset. These values have been suppressed where they would disclose fewer than five applications.
consistency: DWP publish information about Sure Start Maternity Grant in the [Social Fund annual report 2020 to 2021](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021/social-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021) at Great Britain level only. DWP also publishes annual expenditure for Sure Start Maternity Grants at Great Britain level in their [Benefit expenditure and caseload tables](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables). Key differences between any figures for Sure Start Maternity Grant and BSG Pregnancy and Baby Payment are: *\tApplicants can only apply for Sure Start Maternity Grant for their first child. No payments are made for subsequent children (with some exceptions for multiple births) whereas BSG Pregnancy and Baby Payments is applicable for first children and subsequent children. *\tSure Start Maternity Grant payments are £500 for the first child, whereas Pregnancy and Baby Payments are £767.50 for the first child, £383.75 for subsequent children and £383.75 for multiple births. *\tThe Sure Start Maternity Grant application window is from 11 weeks before due date to 6 months after birth, whereas BSG Pregnancy and Baby is from 24th week of pregnancy to 6 months after birth. DWP does not have an equivalent of Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment. The Department for Health and Social Care does not produce statistical publications covering the uptake of Healthy Start Vouchers in Scotland. However, management information on uptake has previously been published by the Scottish Government in a [Freedom of Information response covering a 4 week period in 2018](https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-18-00531/).
geographical coverage: S92
license id: uk-ogl
next update: 2026-08-01
quality management: The data used to produce these statistics are extracted from the Social Security case management system. Extracts from this system are also used on a daily basis for internal reporting within Social Security Scotland. As such, the data is checked daily for consistency with previous extracts (i.e. do applications, decisions and payments figures increase as expected over time, and are they in proportion to each other) and compared to other sources of information such as the number of payment instructions reported by the finance team. Quality assurance and cleaning has been carried out on the variables used in the official statistics: * Checking for duplicate and missing application references * Checking application dates, processing times and payment times are within the expected ranges * Checking applicant and child dates of birth are within the expected ranges * Checking postcodes that do not match to local authorities * Checking payment values match to expected number of children Once the data is aggregated and copied into the publication and supporting Excel tables, the final statistics are quality assured by a different member of the statistics team.
reference period: PeriodOfTime
  end date: 2026
  start date: 2018
timeliness: These statistics are updated every 3 months. These updates coincide with our quarterly publications on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods payments. These can be found at the [Social Security Scotland website](https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/2026/05/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-statistics-to-31-march-2026). Data are collected, validated and published in as timely a manner as possible in accordance with the Statistics Code of Practice. Data are published quarterly and can be found on the Social Security Scotland website.
uniqueness: Not assessed
update frequency: annual
validity: The Scotland Act 2016 gives Scottish Parliament powers over a number of social security benefits which had been administered to Scottish claimants by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Social Security Scotland are the executive agency of Scottish Government responsible for delivering social security benefits for Scotland under the Social Security Scotland Act 2018. Further details about all [Best Start Grant payments]( https://www.mygov.scot/best-start-grant/).
will be updated: true

best-start-grant.csv
type: Distribution
description: Data file for Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods: Applications
format: CSV
issued: 2026-08-13T14:55:55.660216
modified: 2026-08-13T14:55:55.655105
table schema: Schema
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Best Start Grant Indicator
  column: Column
    datatype: int
    name: Value
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyType
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Measurement
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyName
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Units
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyCode
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: DateCode
access URL: https://admin.data.gov.scot/resource/e72463ad-5f49-4f85-8439-b18e3f0e3462/download
comment: Received applications and authorised applications (awards) for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Early Learning Payment, School Age Payment and Best Start Foods Payment
dictionary: Column
  column: Units
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Measurement
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: DateCode
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyType
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyName
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Best Start Grant Indicator
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyCode
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Value
  type: int

Social Security Scotland
type: Agent

Economic Activity, Benefits and Tax Credits
type: Concept