Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether eligibility for the Healthy Start scheme for a family with children under four years of age receiving universal credit and on an earned income of less than £408 a month is linked to eligibility for (a) tax credits or (b) child benefit.

Healthy Start eligibility is for pregnant women (at least 10 weeks into pregnancy) and families with a child under four years old, if they are claiming any of the following benefits:

- Income Support;

- Income-based Job Seekers Allowance;

- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance;

- Child Tax Credit (with an annual family income of £16,190 or less); and

- Universal Credit (with family take-home pay of less than £408 per month).

All pregnant women aged under 18 are also eligible for Healthy Start, regardless of whether they receive any of the above benefits.