According to the research by the Local Government Association (LGA) the amount eligible women and families receive through the scheme was last reviewed in 2020.
The analysis finds:
- The support for families with a baby under the age of one needs to rise from £8.50 to £10.47 a week, with councils warning that the current scheme does not meet the average price of any available first infant formula milk.
- The support for families with a baby between the age of one and four should rise from £4.25 to £5.24 a week.
The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, is asking the Government to use the upcoming Autumn Statement to uplift the value of Healthy Start in line with current inflation, and commit to review the value of the scheme every six months.
It also wants eligibility for the scheme expanded to include all children who are facing food insecurity and poverty.
According to the latest figures, only 70 per cent of those eligible for Health Start have taken up the scheme. While this is a 7 per cent increase on the start of the year following promotion of the scheme by councils and partners, eligible pregnant women and families are and still missing out on support.
In October alone, 141,970 eligible pregnant women, babies and infants missed out on the scheme, which the LGA says is equivalent to the entire population of Blackpool.
Its analysis shows that families who have less confidence managing money or those who cannot speak English well or at all, are less likely to be taking advantage of Healthy Start.
'The scheme has not kept pace with rising food inflation'.
Councillor David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said, ‘Healthy Start is a vitally important programme.
‘However, the scheme has not kept pace with rising food inflation and does not fully meet the value of essential items such as baby formula.
‘We are asking the Government to consider using the Autumn Statement to uplift the value of the scheme to bring it in line with inflation and review every six months.’
