The Healthy Start Voucher Scheme

 

The Healthy Start scheme provides up to £24.80 a month per child under 1 and £12.40 per child aged between 1- 4 years, which can be used for fresh or frozen fruit and veg, as well as milk and infant formula. Recipients also receive vouchers for vitamins designed for children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Do I qualify for Healthy Start?

You qualify for Healthy Start if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old and you or your family get:

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • Child Tax Credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
  • Pension Credit; or
  • Universal Credit with no earned income or total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family. (To find this refer to your Universal Credit award notice in the section “your take home pay for this month”.)

You also qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you don’t get any of the above benefits.

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How many vouchers do families get?

  • Pregnant women receive one voucher each week (£3.10)
  • Babies under one year old get two vouchers each week (£6.20)
  • Children aged from one to four years get one voucher a week (£3.10).

What can I buy with the vouchers?

 

  • Milk – This must be plain cow’s milk and can be whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed.
  • Plain fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables – This means any kind of plain fresh or frozen fruit or vegetables, whole or chopped, packaged or loose.
  • Infant formula milk – This must be infant formula milk that is based on cow’s milk and says on the packaging that it can be used from birth.

 

Pregnant women, women with a baby under one year old and children aged up to their fourth birthday on Healthy Start will also get green Healthy Start vitamin coupons sent to them every eight weeks along with their Healthy Start vouchers.

 

How do I apply?

 

Since the 6th April 2020 a health professional no longer needs to countersign the application and you can apply directly online at https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthy-start-vouchers/how-to-apply/online-application-form/