Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) expanding eligibility for Healthy Start and (b) increasing the payments for Healthy Start recipients on (i) maternal and (ii) child health.

Under the Health Mission, the Government is committed to prevention and to tackling obesity, creating a fairer, healthier food environment. Pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one year old each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one year old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fresh, frozen, or tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start Vitamins.

An evaluation of the Healthy Start scheme in England led by the National Institute for Health and Care Research is due to provide a final report in 2026.

The Healthy Start scheme is kept under continuous review and eligibility aligns closely with other passported benefits across Government.