The cost of living crisis is already causing huge hardship for many people - and things sadly look set to get worse.
The government has been strongly criticised for failing to offer enough support for families who will be worried about being able to afford food and energy as the autumn and winter draws in. While more support is needed, there is a little known payment available for some people that could be more important now than ever.
The Healthy Start scheme is a lifeline for many pregnant women and families with children under four-years-old in the city. It is a means-tested government benefit designed as a nutritional safety net to improve access to a healthy diet for low-income families.
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In Liverpool, over 6,800 pregnant women and parents/carers are eligible for the scheme. From 10 weeks of pregnancy, eligible women receive one Healthy Start voucher a week, worth £4.25 that can be spent on fruit, vegetables, and milk, increasing to £8.50 once the child is born, until they are 1, after they receive £4.25 a week until the child is 4.
Healthy Start is available to all women under the age of 18 (regardless of their income), and women who are 10+ weeks pregnant, or families with a child(ren) up under the age of 4 who qualify for one of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Child Tax Credit with a family income is £16,190 or less*
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks if your working hours, or your partner or carer’s, go to less than 16 hours per week)
- Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
- Universal credit with a total family ‘take-home pay for this period; of no more than £408*
At a time when many are struggling with the cost of living, thousands are missing out on the Healthy Start Scheme. In Liverpool last year only 60% of eligible people took-up of the scheme, meaning over 2,400 people missed out. This has resulted in an estimated £758,521.24 going unclaimed last year, money which should have gone towards supporting the health and food security of our lowest income households.
Many pregnant women, and parents and carers simply did not know they were eligible for Healthy Start. The Feeding Liverpool organisation is now leading a review of Healthy Start in Liverpool. In September they will publish a series of recommendations, developed in partnership with parents, Children Centres, public health teams, midwives and health visitors about how to improve awareness and uptake of the scheme.
These recommendations centre around the need for a designated Healthy Start lead for the city, and a city-wide improved communications plan so that every eligible person is aware about Healthy Start.
Earlier this summer Feeding Liverpool trained 80 new Healthy Start Community Champions, volunteers who will get alongside parents in Liverpool’s community food spaces and foodbanks to support them to sign up for the scheme.
Dr Naomi Maynard, Good Food Programme Director and lead of Feeding Liverpool said “We need everyone in Liverpool who is eligible for this scheme to use it. At a time when food prices are rising this has never been more important. With food prices rising, we are hearing from families cutting back on the types of foods they are eating switching from fresh fruit and vegetables to tins, or skipping fruit and veg although. We are proud to be partnering with Liverpool ECHO to promote the Healthy Start Scheme and ensure more money for food is in the back pockets of those who need it the most”.
Applications are made online by visiting: www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/
If you’re not a British citizen but your child is, you may still be eligible, you can also ask for an application form to be sent to you via email Healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk.
For more information on Healthy Start: www.healthystart.nhs.uk or Feeding Liverpool: www.feedingliverpool.org
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