Healthy Start provides a nutritional safety net and encouragement for breastfeeding and healthy eating to around 600,000 women and children in over 450,000 very low income, and disadvantaged families across the UK. It offers vouchers that can be put towards the cost of milk, fruit and vegetables in any one of around 30,000 individual participating retail outlets, including small shops and businesses as well as major supermarkets.
Following a recent public consultation the law will change on 6 April 2011 to allow families on Healthy Start to buy plain frozen fruit and vegetables with their vouchers, as well as the foods already available through the scheme. The change means that from 6 April they will be able to spend the vouchers on products such as plain frozen peas, carrots, beans and raspberries. Any frozen fruit and vegetable products containing added fat, salt or sugar, or other extra ingredients (such as oven chips, battered onion rings, seasoned stir fry vegetables) will be excluded.
The aim is to encourage low income families supported by Healthy Start to eat more fruit and vegetables through increasing the choice of products available.
The scheme also provides coupons that can be exchanged via the NHS locally for free Healthy Start vitamin supplements containing the appropriate amounts of the recommended vitamins A, C and D (for children) and C, D and folic acid (for pregnant women and new mothers).
Published: 8 October 2010
The Department of Health, National Assembly Government, Scottish Government, and Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety recently consulted on whether women and families supported by Healthy Start should also be able to spend their vouchers on plain frozen fruit and vegetables, and whether there is a need to do more to ensure that vouchers are only spent on products that are included in the scheme. The Department of Health co-ordinated the consultation for the UK.
The consultation was live between 8 October and 31 December 2010. The Government response has now been published.
Below are links to the overall equality impact assessment for Healthy Start and an equality statement relating to the addition of plain frozen fruit and vegetables in the scheme.
A report to the department on the effectiveness of Healthy Start implementation in Devon and Cornwall in November 2005. The findings of the report informed rollout of the scheme across the UK in November 2006.
These historical documents explain the development of the scheme. These are referred to in the consultation stage impact assessment for the consultation exercise on the 'Next steps for Healthy Start' published on the 8th October 2010.