Open consultation

Eligibility for Healthy Start for groups who have no recourse to public funds or are subject to immigration controls

Published 31 July 2024

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Purpose of the consultation

Healthy Start assists those families within the scheme with the cost of healthy foods, such as fruit and vegetables, as well as providing access to free Healthy Start vitamins. Healthy Start provides support to pregnant women, mothers and families with at least one child aged under 4 years old. You can read more about the scheme under ‘Healthy Start’ below.

Healthy Start is a ‘statutory’ scheme. This means its rules are set out in law. The current eligibility rules for Healthy Start are set out in regulations 3 and 4 of the Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

In May 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) extended Healthy Start eligibility through a non-statutory scheme so that British children aged under 4 from families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), or families that do not have an immigration status, can apply for Healthy Start benefits. Under the non-statutory scheme, those eligible can apply to receive equivalent payments to the (statutory) Healthy Start scheme and Healthy Start vitamins. You can read the rules on immigration status in section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

DHSC now intends to place this non-statutory scheme into law. This will mean those eligible will be able to receive payments under the statutory scheme and have access to Healthy Start vitamins.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on whether eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended further to include others who are prevented from accessing public funds due to immigration controls.

DHSC is particularly interested in views from:

• those with NRPF or under immigration controls, particularly:
  • families or parents with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls who have one or more children aged under 4
  • mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls who have children aged under one
  • pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• those with a professional interest in Healthy Start or NRPF or immigration controls
• other members of the public

Read more about what NRPF means under ‘No recourse to public funds’.

Read more about the non-statutory scheme under ‘Non-statutory scheme for British children’.

Reason for consulting

We are consulting to understand more about:

• the potential benefits and challenges of extending the eligibility for Healthy Start to groups who have NRPF or are subject to immigration controls
• the effect that changing or maintaining the policy may have on people with protected characteristics

Extending Healthy Start to non-British children aged under 4 from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls, mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls with children aged under one, and pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls may bring benefits such as:

• providing nutritional support for more children and/or pregnant women by having more funds to purchase healthy foods
• positively affecting food retailers where beneficiaries use their support to purchase additional Healthy Start foods
• providing non-British children, from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls, with vitamins like A, C and D to support a healthy diet
• providing pregnant or breastfeeding women, with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls, with vitamins like C, D and folic acid to support a healthy diet

Extending eligibility for Healthy Start to those with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls may also lead to challenges. These challenges might include:

• an increased number of families eligible for Healthy Start resulting in an increased cost to the government - the increased costs are for the Healthy Start benefit and potential increase in operational costs in running a bigger scheme
• applicants’ ability to provide evidence that clearly demonstrates they meet the eligibility criteria - for example, documents for the age of the child, financial information or documents to demonstrate their current immigration status

DHSC would like to understand more about these and any other potential benefits and challenges.

Scope of the consultation

This consultation is not reviewing the Healthy Start eligibility criteria for those who have recourse to public funds - by this we mean people who are not prevented from accessing public funds, such as Universal Credit or other government benefits, due to immigration controls.

We will not consider answers relating to extending the Healthy Start scheme for those who do have recourse to public funds.

Healthy Start operates across England and Wales and extends to Northern Ireland with their minister’s consent. Scotland have operated their own devolved scheme since 2019.

This is a consultation across the 3 nations (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) where Healthy Start operates.

Introduction

The UK government is committed raising the healthiest generation of children ever.

Through the healthy food schemes, the government supports children and families in need. The 3 schemes are:

• Healthy Start
• the Nursery Milk Scheme 
• the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme

At present, the 3 healthy food schemes together help more than 3 million children every year. They also support wider government priorities on obesity and reducing inequalities.

Healthy Start

Healthy Start contributes towards the cost of healthy foods to help improve the diet of those families in need. Healthy Start beneficiaries are also eligible for free Healthy Start vitamins. Healthy Start operates across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has separate legislation to England and Wales. Scotland has operated its own devolved Best Start Foods scheme since 2019.

Healthy Start provides support to:

• pregnant women
• mothers and families with at least one child aged under 4 years old

To qualify for Healthy Start they must be claiming any of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
• Child Tax Credit (with an annual family income of £16,190 or less)
• Universal Credit (with family take-home pay of £408 or less a month)
• Pension Credit

In addition to the above, Healthy Start provides support to pregnant women on Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

Anyone aged under 18 and pregnant is also eligible for Healthy Start, regardless of whether they receive any of the above benefits. However, once they have given birth, they must meet the eligibility criteria above to continue receiving Healthy Start.

Families with NRPF or subject to immigration controls are ineligible for Healthy Start (statutory scheme) because they are not eligible for one of the qualifying benefits.

The Healthy Start scheme provides:

• £4.25 a week to pregnant women (from the 10th week of pregnancy) and each child aged over one and under 4
• £8.50 a week for each child aged under one - Healthy Start can be used to purchase healthy foods to help improve the diet of children

The NHS Business Services Authority runs the statutory Healthy Start scheme on behalf of DHSC, the Welsh Government and the Department of Health Northern Ireland.

No recourse to public funds (NRPF)

Those seeking to establish their life in the UK are generally expected to maintain and accommodate themselves without recourse to public funds.

NRPF is a standard condition applied to most categories of temporary immigration permission, which prevents those who are subject to immigration controls from accessing certain services or benefits. Immigration controls are set out in section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Those who are in the UK without lawful status are also prevented from accessing public funds. By this we mean those who have:

• overstayed their permission to enter or stay (also known as leave to enter or remain) in the UK
• had their permission to enter or stay revoked, or
• entered without permission

‘Public funds’ include most welfare benefits, including Universal Credit, as well as housing support. They do not include access to NHS treatment or contribution-based benefits such as contributory Employment and Support Allowance (C-ESA). What is classed as a public fund is defined in paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules and in section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

For a full list of public funds, see the government’s guidance on public funds.

If it is established there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child, local authorities are required to provide support through section 17 of the Children Act 1989, regardless of immigration status.

Families with NRPF cannot access certain government support services where eligibility is derived (or ‘passported’) from qualifying benefits. This means that, at present, families with NRPF are not eligible for Healthy Start, which is passported from the benefits listed in the section on Healthy Start above.

Those applying for a visa through family or private life routes can be granted permission without the NRPF condition where they provide evidence to show:

• they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution
• there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child which outweigh the considerations for imposing or maintaining the condition (treating the best interests of a relevant child as a primary consideration), or
• the applicant is facing exceptional circumstances affecting their income or expenditure

Those with permission already granted through the family or private life routes or the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application. An individual can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted if:

• they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution
• there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child which outweigh the considerations for imposing or maintaining the condition (treating the best interests of a relevant child as a primary consideration), or
• they are facing exceptional circumstances affecting their income or expenditure

For those with permission under all other immigration routes (outside of the family or private life, or the Hong Kong BN(O) routes) discretion can be used, under section 3(1)(c)(ii) of the Immigration Act 1971 to consider if there is evidence of particularly compelling circumstances which justify giving access to public funds and lifting the NRPF condition.

Settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain) is generally the point at which someone becomes eligible to access public funds, reflecting their strength of connection to the UK.

Non-statutory scheme for British children

Since May 2021, British children aged under 4 years old from families with NRPF, or families that do not have an immigration status, have been able to access Healthy Start benefits, where eligible. 

Children born in the UK to a British or settled parent are automatically British citizens if the parent held this status prior to the birth of the child. Where a British child, who is aged under 4 years old, lives only with a parent who has NRPF, or no immigration status, that parent can apply to the non-statutory scheme for their child.

The non-statutory scheme provides:

• Healthy Start vitamins for each British child aged under 4 years old
• £4.25 a week for each British child aged over one and under 4 years old
• £8.50 a week for each British child aged under one year old

The parent or guardian who is living with the child must meet all of the eligibility criteria:

• they must have one or more British children (aged under 4 years old)
• the family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month
• they cannot claim public funds as a consequence of their immigration status (by this we mean those with a NRPF condition) or their lack of immigration status

Where families meet all the criteria set out above, DHSC, the Welsh government or the Department of Health Northern Ireland provides the Healthy Start benefit, which includes Healthy Start vitamins.

The non-statutory scheme is run within DHSC. Guidance on the extended Healthy Start (non-statutory) scheme gives details on eligibility criteria and how to apply. DHSC provides specific guidance for third parties applying on behalf of applicants. All applications are manually checked against the eligibility criteria to determine eligibility. DHSC reviews fully completed applications within 40 working days.

Where applicants are approved, DHSC provides funds directly into the applicant’s bank account and the Healthy Start vitamins are posted out from DHSC. Funds are backdated to when the applicant, or third party on the applicant’s behalf, contacted DHSC to ensure those eligible are not missing out on funds they are entitled to.

For 2023 to 2024 the non-statutory scheme supported around 40 families. Since the non-statutory scheme went live it has supported around 150 families.

The government intends to update the legislation underpinning the Healthy Start scheme, to ensure that beneficiaries of the current non-statutory scheme can receive benefits under the main statutory scheme, where eligible.

Consultation questions

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on whether eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended further to include others who do not have access to public funds. DHSC is interested in receiving views from those who are subject to, or who work with those who are subject to, the following types of immigration control:

• those who require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it
• those who have leave to enter or remain in the UK subject to a condition that they do not have recourse to public funds
• those who have leave to enter or remain in the UK as a result of a maintenance undertaking

In particular, DHSC welcomes views on whether Healthy Start eligibility should be extended to:

• non-British children under 4 from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls with children under one

When providing your answers DHSC would like to hear about views on both elements of Healthy Start:

• the financial support to buy healthy foods
• access to Healthy Start vitamins

Questions for all respondents

Current eligibility for Healthy Start

At present, Healthy Start is restricted to those in receipt of certain qualifying public funds and those with NRPF, or who are subject to immigration controls, who have at least one British child aged under 4.

Do you agree or disagree with the current eligibility criteria for Healthy Start?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Extending eligibility for Healthy Start

Do you agree or disagree that eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended to non-British children under 4 from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Do you agree or disagree that eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended to pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Do you agree or disagree that eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended to mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls with children under one?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Extending eligibility for Healthy Start: other groups

Are there any other groups with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls to whom eligibility for Healthy Start should be extended?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Are there any other groups with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls to whom eligibility for Healthy Start should not be extended?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Benefits and challenges of extending Healthy Start

We are interested in views on the benefits and challenges of adding the following groups in to the eligibility criteria for Healthy Start:

• non-British children, under 4, from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls with children aged under one

Do you agree or disagree that there are benefits to adding these groups to the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Do you agree or disagree that there are challenges to adding these groups to the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme?

• Agree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Disagree
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

If you agree, do you have any suggestions for how these challenges could be overcome (maximum 350 words)?

Any further information about eligibility

Please provide any further information that you would like DHSC to consider in relation to eligibility to Healthy Start for those with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls (maximum 350 words).

Further questions for individuals

Do you meet all the current eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start non-statutory scheme?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

You meet the criteria if all of the following are true:

• you have one or more British children who are aged under 4 years old
• your take-home pay is £408 or less per month
• you cannot claim public funds because of your immigration status (by this we mean you have a NRPF condition) or because you do not have an immigration status (you are in the UK without permission)

If you said no, please explain why you do not meet the eligibility criteria (maximum 350 words).

Further questions for professionals or organisations

Do you work with families that meet the current eligibility criteria for the non-statutory scheme?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

They are eligible if all of the following are true:

• they have one or more British children who are aged under 4 years old
• their take-home pay is £408 or less per month
• they also cannot claim public funds because of their immigration status (by this we mean they have a NRPF condition) or because they do not have an immigration status (they are in the UK without permission)

If you do, how many families would you estimate you work with that meet the eligibility criteria for the non-statutory scheme?

• 10 or fewer
• 11 to 20
• 21 to 30
• 31 to 40
• 41 to 50
• More than 50

Do you work with families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls that do not meet the eligibility criteria for the non-statutory scheme?

• Yes
• No
• Don’t know

If you do, how many families would you estimate you work with that do not meet the eligibility criteria for the non-statutory scheme?

• 10 or fewer
• 11 to 20
• 21 to 30
• 31 to 40
• 41 to 50
• More than 50

Please explain why these families do not meet the eligibility criteria for the non-statutory scheme (for example, non-British child or British child aged over 4 years old) (maximum 350 words).

Equality analysis

The Secretary of State must comply with their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and specifically the public sector equality duty (PSED).

PSED covers the following protected characteristics:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race (ethnic origin)
• religion and belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

PSED requires public authorities, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

We are particularly interested in how the Healthy Start scheme affects NRPF families or families subject to immigration controls with protected characteristics (especially race or ethnic origin, pregnancy and maternity) and what effects any changes would have on NRPF families or families who are subject to immigration controls.

Equality analysis: extending Healthy Start to include certain groups

The following questions seek your views on whether changing the eligibility criteria for Healthy Start to include certain groups with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls will affect those with:

• the protected characteristic of race
• the protected characteristic of maternity and pregnancy
• any other protected characteristics

What effect, if any, do you think expanding eligibility would have on those who share the protected characteristic of race?

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

What effect, if any, do you think expanding eligibility would have on those who share the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity?  

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

What effect, if any, do you think expanding eligibility would have on those who share any other protected characteristics? 

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words.)

Equality analysis: not extending Healthy Start

The following questions seek your views on whether not changing the eligibility criteria for Healthy Start to include certain groups with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls will affect those with:

• the protected characteristic of race
• the protected characteristic of maternity and pregnancy
• any other protected characteristics

What effect, if any, do you think not changing the eligibility criteria would have on those who share the protected characteristic of race?  

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

What effect, if any, do you think not changing the eligibility criteria would have on those who share the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity? 

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

What effect, if any, do you think not changing the eligibility criteria would have on those who share any other protected characteristics?

• Positive effect
• Neither positive nor negative effect
• Negative effect
• Don’t know

Please explain your answer (maximum 350 words).

Equality analysis: other information

Please provide any further information that you would like DHSC to consider in relation to equality analysis for Healthy Start eligibility for those with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls (maximum 350 words).

How to respond

The consultation runs for 12 weeks and closes at 11:59pm on 23 October 2024. You can respond using our online survey.

We will also publish shortly:

• an easy read version - this will include an option to respond by post
• a Welsh language version

You can email DHSC with any questions on the consultation at nrpfconsultation@dhsc.gov.uk. 

Next steps

DHSC intends to amend the Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Amendment) Regulations 2005 to put on a statutory footing eligibility for Healthy Start for British children who are aged under 4 whose parents are excluded from claiming public funds as a consequence of their immigration status or their lack of immigration status and who meet other financial criteria.

In addition, DHSC will consider all information submitted as part of this consultation in future policy decisions on whether to extend eligibility further for those with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls for the Healthy Start scheme.

Privacy notice

Summary of initiative or policy

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on whether eligibility to Healthy Start should be extended to include:

• non-British children from families with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• pregnant women with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls
• mothers with NRPF or who are subject to immigration controls with children under one

Data controller

DHSC is the data controller.

What personal data we collect

We will only collect your email address if volunteered by you.

How we use your data (purposes)

We will use your email address to provide you with a reminder if you have not completed the survey once this has been started.

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Under Article 6 of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful basis we rely on for processing this personal data is: the processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions and the task or function has a clear basis in law.

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This consultation is hosted via an online platform owned by SocialOptic, who are a contracted supplier of DHSC. SocialOptic will delete any personal data in line with the retention and disposal periods outlined in this privacy notice, or earlier if instructed to do so by DHSC.

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Storage of data by SocialOptic is provided via secure servers located in the UK. Storage of data by DHSC is provided via secure computing infrastructure on servers located in the European Economic Area. Our platforms are subject to extensive security protections and encryption measures.

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Your personal data will be held for up to 12 months from the closure of the consultation, it will then be deleted. If you wish to contact DHSC regarding your survey response, the email address you volunteered will be used to locate your response.

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In the first instance, your personal data will be stored on SocialOptic secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible.

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Anyone unhappy or wishing to complain about how personal data is used as part of this programme should contact data_protection@dhsc.gov.uk in the first instance or write to:

Data Protection Officer
First Floor North
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Anyone who is still not satisfied can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Their postal address is:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Automated decision making or profiling

No decision will be made about individuals solely based on automated decision making (where a decision is taken about them using an electronic system without human involvement) which has a significant impact on them.

Changes to this policy

We keep this privacy notice under regular review, and we will update it if necessary. All updated versions will be marked by a change note on the consultation page. This privacy notice was last updated on 31 July 2024.