Families missing out on NHS money for healthy food

Charities are warning that thousands of low income families are missing out on money they are eligible to claim to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and milk.

Families earning less than £400 a week are entitled to weekly NHS Health Start payments including pregnant women and those with children under four years old who are entitled to £4.65 a week.

Figures found take-up of the scheme is as low as 64% in some parts of the North East and Cumbria.

Newcastle-based charity Feeding Britain said hikes in food prices meant "every layer of protection possible" was needed for families on the lowest incomes. The government has been approached for comment.

Amelia, from Sunderland, has a two-year-old son and does not qualify for the scheme, but said she understood the struggle families face.

"It's expensive to feed the whole family. It's getting ridiculous really. It's not just food, it's the nappies and wipes and days out."

She said she tries to batch cook to save money and eat the same meals as her son.

Amy, a working mother with a toddler, said: "He was on formula and it was expensive for the tins. They never had offers or promotions."

She said she often eats less so her son can have more food.

Several national charities are calling for the Healthy Start scheme to be updated, including Sustain, The Food Foundation, and Feeding Britain.

Newcastle-based Feeding Britain director Andrew Forsey said: "Given the increases in food prices that are coming our way in the months ahead we need every layer of protection possible for families on the lowest incomes."

He said the government should make Healthy Start an auto-enrollment scheme for eligible families.

"The government can use the data and the technology at its disposal to register parents automatically, just to lift some of the burden off parents' shoulders," he said.

Labour MP for South Shields, Emma Lewell, said she had been campaigning to try and ensure the allocated money does not return to the Treasury if unclaimed.

"It just feels like such a no brainer," she said.

"The money is there, the government have it, it's not going to the people who need it and there's things we can do to make sure it does, but they're not being done.

"I'm really frustrated."

Charities are also calling on the Department for Health and Social Care to release updated figures on enrollment on the scheme.

The NHS stopped publishing data in January 2023 due to an inaccuracy that was discovered and this has not since been rectified.

It means charities and local authorities cannot track who might be missing out.

The department has been approached for comment.

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