Research and analysis

Healthy Start scheme research

Research commissioned to give Government a better understanding of how retailers experience Healthy Start vouchers

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 9 July 2012

Applies to England

Documents

Healthy Start Retailer research summary

PDF, 78.3 KB, 7 pages

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Details

Commissioned to give Government a better understanding of how retailers experience Healthy Start vouchers: what works well and what doesn’t, the potential causes of voucher misuse, and how these might be addressed, the report suggests that in general both retailers and beneficiaries are strongly motivated to accept and use vouchers for the correct products and that voucher misuse is rare.

The Government will work with retailers to build on these findings, encouraging good practice and ensuring that this important publicly funded scheme continues to work as it is intended.

Following a public consultation in October 2010, the Government added plain frozen fruit and vegetables to the products that Healthy Start vouchers can be spent on.  It also committed to working with retailers to improve the way that vouchers are handled at the point of sale.

More than 15,000 retailers and 30,000 retail outlets throughout the UK  accept Healthy Start vouchers for milk, fruit and vegetables, supporting the 450,000 vulnerable families who rely on the scheme for help in giving pregnant women, babies and young children a healthy diet.

Published 9 July 2012