Healthy Start Update: The Healthy Start Scheme is changing!

The Healthy Start scheme is launching a digital scheme that offers a prepaid card to those applying for Healthy Start instead of paper vouchers. This card will be automatically topped up every 4 weeks with your payment.

The healthy start scheme supports families to purchase a range of healthy foods and also provides free vitamins for women and children.

If you qualify for the Healthy Start benefit, you’ll receive:

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy (from the 10th week of your pregnancy)
• £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
• £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old

Healthy Start vouchers can be spent on:

• cow’s milk
• fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables
• infant formula milk
• fresh, dried, and tinned pulses

Eligibility

You’ll qualify for the Healthy Start scheme if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or you have at least one child that’s under 4.

AND

In addition, you must be receiving any of the following:

• Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
• Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)*

You will also be eligible for Healthy Start if:

• you’re under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits
• you claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant
• you, your partner or your carer get Working Tax Credit run-on only after you have reported you’re working 16 hours or less per week

*To find out if your family earns £408 or less per month from employment whilst claiming Universal Credit, look at your ‘take-home pay for this period’ on your monthly Universal Credit award notice.

 How to apply

If you’re a Healthy Start beneficiary on the paper voucher scheme, you’ll be contacted when you can apply for the digital scheme.  You will not automatically be transferred over to the new pre-paid card. You will need to apply again online https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/ .

Please be aware, Paper vouchers will be replaced by a digital pre-paid card scheme by March 2022, and all paper vouchers will be void after March 2022.

If you’re not already a Healthy Start beneficiary, but you’re receiving a qualifying benefit and are pregnant or have parental responsibility for at least one child under the age of 4, you can apply online now! 

More information can be found on the NHS Healthy Start Webpage.