Healthy Start payment checker
Free help to buy milk, fruit, vegetables and infant formula if you are pregnant or have a young child on a qualifying benefit. Enter your family to see the weekly amount.
How Healthy Start is worked out
Healthy Start is a weekly amount loaded onto a prepaid card to spend on milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula. What you get depends on your pregnancy and the ages of your children. A pregnancy is worth £4.65 a week from the 10th week. Each child under 1 is worth £9.30, double the older rate, and each child aged 1 up to 4 is worth £4.65.
To get it you need to be at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, and your household needs a qualifying benefit, most often Universal Credit with earnings under the monthly limit. If you are pregnant and under 18 you can claim without a benefit. The card is topped up every 4 weeks, so the weekly figures above add up to a payment four times as large each time.
Worked example
A family with one baby under 1 and one toddler aged 2 gets £9.30 plus £4.65, which is £13.95 a week, or £55.80 on the card every 4 weeks. If the parent were also newly pregnant, another £4.65 a week would be added once they reach the 10th week.
Common questions
How much is Healthy Start worth a week?
You get £4.65 a week from the 10th week of pregnancy, £9.30 a week for each child from birth to age 1, and £4.65 a week for each child aged 1 up to 4. The money is loaded onto a prepaid card every 4 weeks.
Who can get Healthy Start?
You qualify if you are at least 10 weeks pregnant, or have a child under 4, and you or your family get a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit with earnings below the income limit, Income Support, or Pension Credit. If you are pregnant and under 18 you can claim even without a qualifying benefit.
What can I spend it on?
The card can be used for plain cow's milk, fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables, pulses, and infant formula based on cow's milk. It can also be used for vitamins. It cannot be used for other groceries.
Why do children under 1 count double?
Children under 1 are worth £9.30 a week, twice the standard rate, because infant formula and milk are a large cost in the first year. Once a child turns 1 the amount drops to £4.65 a week until they turn 4.
Does Healthy Start affect my other benefits?
No. Healthy Start is extra help on top of your benefits and does not reduce your Universal Credit or any other payment. It is worth claiming as soon as you are eligible, since payments only start from when you apply.