Almost 10,000 children in Renfrewshire have been supported by two benefit payments, new figures reveal.

Renfrewshire North and West MSP Natalie Don has welcomed the statistics, which show that 9,835 local children have benefited from Best Start Foods and Best Start Grant payments from the Scottish Government.

In the first six months of this year, payments worth £3,888,870 were made to Renfrewshire families.

Ms Don, of the SNP, told The Gazette: said: "The Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods payments provide crucial support to families at key stages of their children's lives, and it is excellent to see thousands of families in Renfrewshire have benefitted.

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"This is another demonstration of the SNP Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, now automatically accompanying the Scottish Child Payment following last year’s increase to £25."

Since the Scottish Government's introduction of the Best Start Grant in 2018 and of Best Start Foods in 2019, £130million has been paid in support for pregnancy and the early years of raising a family, equating to 1.7million Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods payments.

For more information about the two benefits, visit www.mygov.scot/best-start-grant-best-start-foods.