More than 200,000 families have been warned they are missing out of the Healthy Start scheme, which offers free food vouchers to those on a low income.
UK households who buy milk are urged to come forward for little-known vouchers worth £442. More than 200,000 families have been warned they are missing out of the Healthy Start scheme, which offers free food vouchers to those on a low income.
Families who haven’t applied are losing out on more than £880,000 per week .If you live in England, Northern Ireland or Wales, you can apply for NHS Healthy Start if you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have parental responsibility for a child under four AND you’re getting at least one of the following benefits: Child Tax Credit (but only if your annual family income is £16,190 or less); Income Support; Income-based jobseeker’s allowance; Pension Credit (but only if you get the child element – for example, where you’ve been granted a guardianship); or Universal Credit (but only if your family earns £408 or less a month in take-home pay from employment).
You can also apply if you’re under 18 and pregnant, even if you’re not claiming any benefits or you claim income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) and you’re over 10 weeks pregnant, or you or your partner get working tax credit ‘run on’ only (this is the tax credit you get in the four weeks immediately after you’ve stopped working for 16 hours or more a week).
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There’s no deadline to claim by and you can continue to do so for as long as you meet the qualifying criteria. You can use your Healthy Start card in any shop or market that accepts Mastercard and sells any of the following items: plain liquid cow’s milk, infant formula milk based on cow’s milk, fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables or fresh, dried and tinned pulses.
Sue Davies, head of consumer rights and food policy at Which?, said: “The Healthy Start scheme has potential to help many hard-up families who are struggling with the unrelenting cost of living crisis and have had to skip meals or use food banks as a result.
“However, poor take-up means millions of pounds’ worth of help is going unclaimed. There is an important role for the government to expand the scheme and increase its value, but we’re also calling on supermarkets to help customers by better promoting what is available and providing extra top-ups for those who use the scheme.
“Supermarkets also need to make it easier for all customers to work out which items offer the best value for money, by making sure their pricing is clear and easily comparable between items. Supermarkets must ensure everyone has access to basic, affordable food ranges, especially in areas where they are most needed.”