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Healthy Start Scheme - England, Wales, Northern Ireland - Am I eligible for Healthy Start Scheme?

If you are pregnant or have a child under four years old and live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you could get help from Healthy Start Scheme to buy some basic foods.

Last reviewed 22 August 2023

Am I eligible for Healthy Start Scheme?

You can get help from Healthy Start Scheme and vitamins if you are more than ten weeks pregnant, or have a child under four, and you are getting:

If you are getting Working Tax Credit, you could get help from Healthy Start Scheme, but only if you are receiving Working Tax Credit run-on. This is the payment you can get in the four weeks after you have stopped working enough hours to qualify for Working Tax Credit.

You also qualify for Healthy Start Scheme if you are not getting one of these benefits yourself but:

  • You are under 18 and more than ten weeks pregnant, or
  • You live with your partner and your partner gets the benefit, or 
  • You are the dependent child of someone who is getting the benefit, or
  • You have a British citizen child aged under 4, have no recourse to public funds, and your household has earnings of less than £408 per month.

Once you have had your baby, you can still get help from Healthy Start Scheme and vitamins for any child up to the age of 4, as long as you still meet one of the conditions listed above.

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