The NHS Healthy Start scheme provides financial support for struggling families to buy essential food items. The programme has recently come under fire as it faces IT issues which may be preventing eligible families from accessing it, and for failing to take account recent increases in the price of staple foods. Critics say it is therefore not fulfilling its original objective to support families in need.
IT problems
Last year, 46,000 people were wrongly deemed ineligible for the scheme when it switched from paper vouchers to a digital pre-paid card system. Although those affected are eligible for backdated payments, the process has been delayed. The average waiting time is 254 days, with some families waiting over a year to receive support.
In January 2021, as a Suffolk County Councillor, Jack Abbott helped start a campaign to raise awareness of the Healthy Start vouchers. At that time, 45% of eligible families in Suffolk were claiming the vouchers, but by March 2022, thanks to the campaign, that number increased to 71%. However, nearly a third of eligible families were still not claiming the vouchers, resulting in £6,672.50 worth of food vouchers going unclaimed each week.
Abbott has been critical of the handling of the scheme. He believes the government’s “shambles” is hindering efforts to ensure families in need receive the support they’re entitled to.
Government blocking vital data
Both the problem of families losing access to Healthy Start and the delayed payments have been compounded by the government’s decision to stop publishing local data on how many families are missing out on the scheme. It has left authorities unsure of the correct figures and is hampering local efforts to ensure food is reaching the babies and children who need it most.
Jack Abbott, who is Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Ipswich, has accused the Government of “dragging their feet on backdating claims,” a situation he finds “staggering” given the cost-of-living crisis. “It’s totally unacceptable at the best of times for people not to receive the support they’re entitled to. I have no doubt that families in Ipswich and Suffolk have been affected by the latest in a long line of Government incompetence in managing this scheme.”
Local Government Association critical of scheme’s handling
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, has also been critical of the government’s handling of the scheme. Aside from the low take-up, they are concerned the vouchers have failed to reflect recent steep increases in food prices. The cost of staple items such as milk and tomatoes have risen from between 21% and 47% since prices were set for the vouchers in April 2021.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board says, “Our analysis shows that prices of food have increased drastically since costs were set for the scheme 18 months ago. If the scheme is to help as many people as it can, the vouchers must reflect current inflationary food prices.”
The LGA is calling for an increase in the value of Healthy Start vouchers in line with the current inflation rate and reviewed every six months. They also want auto-enrolment of the Healthy Start scheme through an automated process which would remove any barriers families face when applying online.
A shift from an ‘opt in’ to an ‘opt out’ registration system would ensure no-one who qualifies would fall through bureaucratic cracks. Abbott says the campaign has had to work hard over the past two years to raise awareness of the Healthy Start scheme, but believes the effort is worth it. “It’s for providing healthy food for babies and young children in the hardest hit families,” he says. “This Conservative government is failing them.”
Do you qualify?
To qualify for Healthy Start you must be at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old and you or your family receive:
- 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
You also qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you don’t get any of the above benefits.
More information about Healthy Start can be found here.
This article is based on a press release from Jack Abbott, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Ipswich.
