PLANS to scrap the two-child benefits cap in Scotland by April 2026 could be brought forward, according to John Swinney.

The SNP First Minister set out his vision to eradicate child poverty at a speech in Stirling yesterday.

He said: “If we want it, if we prioritise it, if we make it our goal then together we can make real progress towards achieving it.”

Campaigners have long argued that scrapping the two-child cap would be key to reaching that goal, and the draft Scottish Budget had allocated funds to build systems to end it by the next Holyrood election.

But Mr Swinney hinted that if they could be up and running sooner, “the first payments will be made in this coming year, helping to lift thousands of children out of poverty.”

Child Poverty Action Group’s John Dickie urged the First Minister to “substantively increase the real-terms value of the Scottish Child Payment in his budget for the coming year.”

He said: “The commitment to effectively scrap the two-child limit in Scotland by 2026 is extremely welcome.

“But the hard reality is that struggling families need an income boost now.”