NHS Healthy Start

What is NHS Healthy Start?

The scheme helps young families and those who are more than 10 weeks pregnant to access healthy food, milk and vitamins. Eligibility for the scheme also depends on the benefit the person receives and what their income is.

Once on the scheme, people will get:
£4.25 each week of their pregnancy (from the 10th week of pregnancy)
£8.50 each week for children from birth to one year old
£4.25 each week for children between one and four years old

The payments will stop on the child’s 4th birthday or if they no longer receive the qualifying benefits.

NHS Healthy Start beneficiaries can buy:

plain liquid cow’s milk, including long-life, pasteurised or ultra heat treated (UHT) varieties of milk. This does not include milk which has had chemicals, vitamins, favours or colours added or removed.
fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables, including loose, pre-packed, whole, sliced, chopped or mixed fruit or vegetables, fruit in fruit juice, or fruit or vegetables in water, but not those to which fat, salt, sugar or favouring have been added
cow’s milk-based infant formula milk. This must be labelled as suitable for use from birth and satisfy, by itself, an infant’s nutritional needs
fresh, dried and tinned pulses, including but not limited to lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas but not those to which fat, salt, sugar or favouring have been added

Beneficiaries of the scheme can also get the following free Healthy Start vitamins:

Women’s vitamins for those who are pregnant or have a child up to one year old
Children’s vitamin drops for children up to four years old

Who is eligible?

To qualify for the NHS Healthy Start scheme, an applicant must be more than 10 weeks pregnant or have parental responsibility for at least one child under four years old. In addition, they must be receiving any of the following:

Child Tax Credit (if the 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 (if the family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

They may also be eligible for NHS Healthy Start if:

they’re under 18 and more than 10 weeks pregnant, even if they’re
are not claiming any benefits
they claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant
they or their partner get Working Tax Credit run-on only. (Working Tax Credit run-on is the Working Tax Credit they receive in the four weeks immediately after they have stopped working for 16 hours or more per week)

The application process

People can apply to the NHS Healthy Start scheme online at www.healthystart.nhs.uk
Applicants will be asked to enter personal details, including their National Insurance number. They will also need to enter their baby’s due date, if they are pregnant, and the names and dates of birth of their children under four years old. The details they enter in their application should match exactly what is written on their benefit award letter.
If an applicant is on Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits, they need to make sure all their children under four years old are named on their benefit claim before they apply to NHS Healthy Start.
If someone cannot apply online, they can apply over the telephone by calling the NHS Healthy Start helpline on 0300 330 7010.
A telephone translation service is also available when calling the helpline.
The NHS Healthy Start helpline is available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
The online application process enables someone to apply on the applicant’s behalf. The claimant must be present during the application process to confirm their personal information and accept the prepaid card terms and conditions.
Beneficiaries can contact the automated service on 0300 330 2090 to activate their card, check their balance, get their PIN or report a card as lost or stolen. This line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For more information please visit: Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start)