Over £4m paid out to child abuse survivors
- Published
The payments are being made to those who suffered historical childhood abuse while in care
More than 400 payments have been made to child abuse survivors under a financial redress scheme, the Scottish government has said.
Advance payments are being made to the terminally ill and those aged 68 or over ahead of a statutory redress scheme next year.
A sum of £10,000 each has been awarded to 417 people.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the money went "some way" towards acknowledging "grievous harm".
The payments were made between April 2019 and April 2020.
The Advance Payment Scheme comes ahead of planned legislation, which the Scottish government hopes will pass through Holyrood before March 2021.
Mr Swinney said the Scottish government would continue to do "everything possible" to help abuse survivors and their families.
"While clearly nothing can take away the pain that individuals have suffered, the scheme, together with other actions we are taking, will go some way towards acknowledging the grievous harm inflicted on them when they were most vulnerable," he added.