Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the effect of the Healthy Start scheme on levels of malnutrition among children.

The Government has provided nutritional support to certain parts of the population for many years. We are taking a number of steps to prevent cases of malnutrition and ensure that people, particularly the young, the vulnerable and the elderly, are getting an adequate diet.

Healthy Start helps to encourage a healthy diet for more than 332,000 pregnant women, families and children under four from low income households. Healthy Start entitles beneficiaries to one £3.10 voucher every week to spend on milk, fruit, and vegetables. They are also eligible for free Healthy Start vitamins. The Government recommitted to the Healthy Start scheme in the 2016 plan ‘Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action’, showing that improving the health and diets of children is high on Governmental priorities.