Healthy Start Scheme

Healthy Start is a scheme available in England and Wales to help new parents and their children to eat healthily. It is available during pregnancy (once you are at least 10 weeks pregnant) and if you are responsible for a child under 4.

In Scotland, there is a similar scheme known as Best Start Foods.

If you qualify for Healthy Start you will get a prepaid card that you can use towards the costs of milk, infant formula milk, fresh, frozen and tinned vegetables and fruit, and fresh, dried and tinned pulses.

You will also get vitamins to support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding and vitamin drops suitable for children from birth to 4 years old.

You qualify for Healthy Start if you are aged 18 or over if you (or a member of your family who can claim benefits for you) are in receipt of:

• Universal Credit – your household earned income from paid work must be no more than £408 after tax and National Insurance

You also qualify if you are in receipt of one of the following ‘legacy benefits‘ (although these benefits are being abolished and replaced with Universal Credit from April 2026):

• Income Support
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (this is only a qualifying benefit during pregnancy)
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

You will also qualify for Healthy Start regardless of whether you (or a member of your family who can claim benefits for you) receives Universal Credit (or a legacy benefit) if you are under 18 and more than 10 weeks pregnant.

If you are not a British Citizen and have no recourse to public funds, you will also qualify for Healthy Start without needing to be on Universal Credit (or a legacy benefit) if you have a British citizen child under 4.

If you are eligible for Healthy Start you can apply online on the Healthy Start website. You can also apply by email or post.

If you are eligible for Healthy Start you will get a prepaid card that is topped up weekly with:

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

If you have more than one eligible child, you get a payment for each, so, for example, if you have one child under one and one under four you would get three payments a week. There is no limit to the number of children you can claim for.

The Healthy Start prepaid card can be used anywhere that accepts Mastercard® and sells the eligible healthy start food items.

For further information on the Healthy Start scheme and frequently asked questions see here.

If you have a query about Healthy Start you can contact the NHS Healthy Start department online or by telephone.

This advice applies in England and Wales. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.

If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us.

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