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1713988

registered interest
date	25/04/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the eligibility criteria, and (2) the available methods of applying, for people aged under 18 with children who are seeking to apply for the NHS Healthy Start scheme.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Gloucester
uin	HL4095
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme under continuous review. There are no current plans to change eligibility for the scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority also keeps the application methods for the NHS Healthy Start scheme under review, and there are no current plans to change the process for under 18 year olds.</p><p>Those who are under 18 years old, with parental responsibility for at least one child under four years old, and who meet the eligibility criteria for Healthy Start through Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit, can apply online. This is the same process for all who are eligible through these qualifying benefits.</p> answering member printed Lord Markham question first answered 07/05/2024 16:23:02 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	4540 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Gloucester

1697534

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on the Healthy Start Scheme in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial year.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	19621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>The cost of operating the Healthy Start scheme was £78,148,555 in 2021/22 and £78,761,339 in 2022/23.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 27/03/2024 16:28:39 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom previous answer version 25900 answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1697537

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were eligible for Healthy Start vouchers in January (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	19622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>The number of those eligible for Healthy Start in January 2022 was 553,601, and the number of those eligible in January 2023 was 578,067.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 27/03/2024 15:45:54 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1697540

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of automatically enrolling eligible people in the Healthy Start scheme.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	19623
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2024 answer text <p>There are no plans for specific discussions on this point. The NHS Business Services Authority operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The Healthy Start scheme has recently transitioned from paper vouchers to a prepaid card. All applicants to the Healthy Start scheme, where they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Healthy Start legislation, must accept the terms and conditions of the prepaid card at the point of application. As the prepaid card is a financial product and cannot be issued without the applicant accepting these terms, the NHS Business Services Authority is not able to automatically provide eligible families with a prepaid card.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom question first answered 25/03/2024 15:13:45 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1697568

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the correspondence from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care to the hon. Member for South Shields of December 2023, whether her Department has received personal identifiable data from the Department for Work and Pensions on people who are eligible for Healthy Start.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	19624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department of Health and Social Care does not receive personal data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on those eligible for the Healthy Start scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) runs the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department is continuing to work closely with the NHS BSA and the DWP, in order for the NHS BSA to receive the personal data held by the DWP for those potentially eligible citizens, as soon as possible. The NHS BSA will use this data to reach out to those eligible, who are not currently in receipt of Healthy Start, to encourage them to apply for the Healthy Start scheme.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 19625 question first answered 26/03/2024 16:58:05 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom previous answer version 25901 answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1697570

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the correspondence from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care to the hon. Member for South Shields of December 2023, for what purpose her Department requested personal identifiable data from the Department for Work and Pensions on people who are eligible for Healthy Start.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	19625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department of Health and Social Care does not receive personal data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on those eligible for the Healthy Start scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) runs the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department is continuing to work closely with the NHS BSA and the DWP, in order for the NHS BSA to receive the personal data held by the DWP for those potentially eligible citizens, as soon as possible. The NHS BSA will use this data to reach out to those eligible, who are not currently in receipt of Healthy Start, to encourage them to apply for the Healthy Start scheme.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 19624 question first answered 26/03/2024 16:58:05 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom previous answer version 25902 answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1697223

registered interest
date	19/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on the uptake of Healthy Start vouchers on the Healthy Start website.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Andrew Western
uin	19511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.</p><p>The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 19512 question first answered 27/03/2024 12:14:58 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4979 label Biography information for Andrew Western

1697226

registered interest
date	19/03/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to restore the availability of data on Healthy Start uptake on the Healthy Start website.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Andrew Western
uin	19512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has identified an error in their data that means that the data published for Healthy Start uptake from July 2023 onwards was incorrect. It is important to state that the data used to calculate the uptake rate is not used as part of the live check to determine eligibility for individual applicants to Healthy Start, and no individual applicants or beneficiaries have been impacted, The Department for Work and Pensions has fixed the issue, and additional checks have been added to the process to ensure the issue does not occur in the future.</p><p>The incorrect data has been removed from the NHS Healthy Start website by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA), who run the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. Corrected and updated data for March 2024 will be published by the NHS BSA shortly.</p> answering member constituency South Northamptonshire answering member printed Andrea Leadsom grouped question UIN 19511 question first answered 27/03/2024 12:14:58 answering member 4117 label Biography information for Andrea Leadsom
tabling member	4979 label Biography information for Andrew Western

1688310

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, in each of the past 12 months for which data are available, how much money was (1) credited to NHS Healthy Start cards, (2) used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items, and (3) not used.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <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> </p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL2281 question first answered 20/02/2024 15:55:51 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1688311

registered interest
date	07/02/2024
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Healthy Start Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what happens to any money credited to NHS Healthy Start cards that is not used by entitled beneficiaries within the period of time they have available to spend that money on valid items.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL2281
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2024 answer text <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> </p> answering member printed Lord Markham grouped question UIN HL2280 question first answered 20/02/2024 15:55:51 answering member 4948 label Biography information for Lord Markham
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead