Healthy Start - Children and Families Health

Healthy Start

Information below is from www.healthystart.nhs.uk

If you're more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

If you're eligible, you'll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We'll add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.

You can use your card to buy:

• plain liquid cow's milk
• fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
• fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
• infant formula milk based on cow's milk

You can also use your card to collect:

• Healthy Start vitamins,; these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
• vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old

Am I eligible for Healthy Start?

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. 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 get a qualifying benefit and are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have parental responsibility for at least one child under 4 years old you can apply online: Apply for Healthy Start

To apply, you will need your:

• name
• address
• date of birth
• National Insurance number
• baby's due date (if you're pregnant)
• benefit award letter if you’re over 18 (you must enter the same information that's on this letter)

If you're currently receiving paper vouchers for Healthy Start, these will stop once you complete the online application. You can still use your Healthy Start vouchers until their expiry date. You can find the expiry date printed on your vouchers.

If you're not a British citizen but your child is

You might be able to get Healthy Start vouchers depending on your immigration status.

You can get Healthy Start vouchers if all the following are true:

• you have at least 1 British child under 4 years old - check if your child is automatically a British citizen (opens in a new tab)if you're not sure
• your family earns £408 or less per month after tax
• you cannot claim online immigration status (opens in a new tab) will say if you cannot claim public funds. You might also have a letter from the Home Office about it.

  To get Healthy Start vouchers, ask for an application form via email. Only use this email address if you think you cannot claim public funds because of your immigration status.

  Healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk

  Why are Vitamins Important?

  Healthy Start vitamins contain vitamins A, C and D for children aged from birth to four years, and folic acid and vitamins C and D for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

  Healthy Start vitamins are important because:

  • 8% of children under five in the UK don't have enough vitamin A in their diet
  • families in lower-income groups tend to have less vitamin C in their diet
  • all pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children are at risk of vitamin D deficiency² (teenagers, younger women and those from ethnic minorities are particularly at risk).

  Two bespoke Healthy Start branded products are available:

  • Healthy Start children’s vitamin drops (containing vitamins A, C and D)
  • Healthy Start vitamins for women (containing folic acid and vitamins C and D).

  You can collect your free vitamins by showing your prepaid card at your local family's centre.

  More information on Healthy Start Vitamins

Frequently Asked Questions