Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to promote the Healthy Start scheme via a new communications package to improve uptake when the value of the vouchers increases in April 2021; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of working with (a) food partnerships, (b) public health teams and (c) other local stakeholders to promote that scheme.

From April 2021 the Healthy Start voucher value will increase from £3.10 to £4.25. We will work closely with Healthy Start beneficiaries, retailers, local authorities and healthcare professionals to prepare for this.

The Healthy Start scheme continues to be promoted through the Healthy Start and Start4Life websites. All eligible beneficiaries receive a letter inviting them to apply for Healthy Start, together with a pre-populated application form.