Thousands of Lanarkshire youngsters have used a new child benefit scheme.
New stats have revealed 7545 children across South Lanarkshire have used the Scottish Child Payment, which intended to help the most underprivileged children and families in the region.
Across the local authority area, this is helping eligible families with a share of £3,522,780.
In neighbouring North Lanarkshire the numbers are even higher, with 10,215 children using it for a share of £4,661,920.
The level of payment was recently doubled from £10 per week per child to £20 per week per child in April to help families with the cost of living crisis, and a further £5 increase is slated for the end of the year.
Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey welcomed the figures and claimed it showed the support being given to struggling families by the Scottish Government.
She stated: "The Tory cost of living crisis is impacting thousands of households across Cambuslang and Rutherglen with many being pushed into poverty, or even deeper into poverty, as a result.
"The Scottish Government’s Scottish Child Payment, which charities have described as being ‘game-changing’, is a targeted measure which gets money into the pockets of those who need it most.
"A substantial number of children in South Lanarkshire are benefitting from this new benefit which is not available anywhere else in the UK.
"With the cost of living crisis only going to get worse over the coming months, policies like this, as well as the six percent up rating of Scottish benefits, will be increasingly vital.”
Glasgow has the highest number of authorised applicants, with over 21,000.