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<p>Under the Healthy Start scheme, pregnant women and children aged under four years
old and over one years old, each receive £4.25 every week, and children under one
years old each receive £8.50 every week. Healthy Start can be used to buy, or be put
towards the cost of, fresh, frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, fresh, dried and
tinned pulses, milk and infant formula. The money is loaded onto a pre-paid payment
card. Beneficiaries are not required to spend the money each week and it can be accumulated
and put towards more expensive Healthy Start items, such as infant formula. The legislation
states that only after 16 consecutive weeks of the pre-paid payment card not being
used can the card be cancelled.</p><p>This flexibility in how and when the money can
be used means that the total amount spent in any one month can exceed the amount added
in that month, if beneficiaries have accumulated funds in previous months. The following
table shows the latest data for how much was added onto Healthy Start cards and spent,
per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total added</p></td><td><p>Total
spent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£7,859,474.75</p></td><td><p>£8,353,475.29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£7,435,669.76</p></td><td><p>£7,320,424.91</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£10,626,362.86</p></td><td><p>£8,971,140.57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£11,665,242.36</p></td><td><p>£10,012,024.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£8,137,362.11</p></td><td><p>£8,218,389.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£7,805,625.26</p></td><td><p>£7,873,571.30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£9,171,390.95</p></td><td><p>£8,021,060.44</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£8,535,237.75</p></td><td><p>£7,985,449.52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£7,549,456.50</p></td><td><p>£7,887,565.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£8,289,498.25</p></td><td><p>£7,715,832.34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£7,954,638.13</p></td><td><p>£7,131,207.48</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£7,750,004.57</p></td><td><p>£7,013,663.46</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
</p><p>This flexibility also means that from month to month some of the money may
remain on the payment cards without being used. During 2023 the average outstanding
balance across all Healthy Start cards was £12.6 million. This equates to around £37
per household. If a card was unused for 16 weeks as permitted in the legislation,
it would accumulate £68 for a pregnant woman or a family with a child over one and
under four, or £136 for a family with twins under one years old. The average balance
of £37 per household is less than 16 weeks’ entitlement, although these are aggregate
figures and there will be variation across households. The following table shows the
total outstanding balance across all Healthy Start cards, per month, during 2023:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Total
outstanding balance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>£11,876,537.16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>£11,456,639.28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>£11,444,727.51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>£12,465,403.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>£12,238,144.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>£12,123,823.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>£12,777,017.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>£13,193,581.26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>£13,677,365.89</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>£13,066,802.63</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>£13,418,231.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>£13,850,960.26</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>
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