UK Healthy Start food scheme flaws cost nutrition-insecure families millions, Sustain NGO reports

24 May 2024 --- A new analysis by the UK-based food and agriculture advocacy alliance Sustain estimates that £57,914,354 (close to US$74 million) in government nutrition support for low-income families in the country could go unclaimed. This is due to what the organization refers to as the “inefficiencies” of the British government’s Healthy Start scheme.

Over a third of the entitled infants, young children and pregnant people in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have not taken advantage of these benefits. Sustain is now calling on the government to take action to ensure all families receive the support they need to ensure nutrition security. 

“The Healthy Start Scheme is not meeting its full potential, with over a third of eligible individuals from low-income households missing out. Auto-enrolment to the scheme is the best and fairest way to ensure every eligible baby, young child and pregnant person benefits,” states Vera Zakharov, sustainable food places local action coordinator at Sustain.

Emma Lewell-Buck, MP for South Shields, comments: “Too many families are missing out on the nutritional safety net provided by Healthy Start and setting the stage for a lifetime of good health. In my constituency of South Shields, families are missing out on an estimated £169,000 (US$215,000) in support a year.”

Lack of awareness 
The Healthy Start governmental scheme offers support for purchasing “healthy foods like milk or fruit” and “free vitamins” for those who are more than ten weeks pregnant or have a child under the age of four. The payments can also be used to buy vegetables, pulses and first infant formula. Per day, infants under one are entitled to £8.50 (US$10.80), while pregnant people and children between one and four can access £4.25 (US$5.40).

Since its digitalization, it has seen a 50% uptake in participation. However, levels remain consistently low across the UK, with only 62% of eligible families taking advantage of the scheme. 

According to Sustain, the system currently expects those in need to opt-in to receive their payments after they are made aware of their eligibility. Yet, over 220,000 people are missing out due to a lack of awareness. 

Over a third of the entitled infants, young children and pregnant people have not taken advantage of the Healthy Start benefits they are entitled to.Lack of uptake by region
The advocacy group’s Healthy Start map reveals segment uptake rates and shortfalls by local authorities. It aims to bring attention to the “postcode lottery” of uptake to the scheme. 

The most significant shortfall of £1,634,488 (more than US$2 million) is recorded in the city of Birmingham. At the same time, the London Borough of Newham registers an uptake of only 50%, resulting in a loss of £636,898 (US$809,762). The lowest levels seen overall are in the London region, as families there are missing out on close to £10 million (almost US$13 million), followed by the North West region with £7.8 million (nearly US$10 million) unclaimed. 

“Data sharing protocols between the Department of Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care should be put in place to identify all people entitled to Healthy Start payments and an ‘opt-out’ rather than ‘opt-in’ scheme should be put in place,” argues MP Lewell-Buck. 

Families in Scotland facing nutrition insecurity are eligible to apply to a similar benefit scheme named Best Start Foods. Sustain commends the Scottish alternative for its 92% uptake rate and higher payments to its participants. 

Zakharov asserts: “Healthy Start must follow Scotland’s Best Start Foods scheme and increase the value of payments in line with inflation, as well as removing the unacceptably low-income thresholds that unfairly disqualify many families facing sharp food insecurity.”

Moving forward
Based on their new findings, Sustain, along with the charity The Food Foundation and other similar advocacy organizations, is asking the UK government to introduce changes to the Healthy Start scheme. 

They are asking for the introduction of auto-enrolment into the scheme and the increase of payments in line with inflation. Additionally, they call for Universal Credit eligibility to be extended to all families, as was the case with the Best Start Foods Scheme. 

In a recent interview with Nutrition Insight, The Food Foundation also called for all children part of families on Universal Credit to be granted free school meals.

Meanwhile, Sustain’s Zakharov previously told us that the majority of the 175,000 migrant and refugee and migrant children living in the UK who do not have recourse to benefits are also not eligible for Healthy Start. The NGO calls for the scheme’s scope to be expanded to include such children to ameliorate food insecurity in such communities.

By Milana Nikolova