Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2018 to Question 138038 on Healthy Start Sceme, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of (a) women and (b) children eligible to apply for Healthy Start vouchers.

Eligibility for Healthy Start vouchers is determined by the receipt of qualifying benefits. All pregnant women aged under 18 are also eligible to receive Healthy Start vouchers. The number of households eligible for Healthy Start vouchers is closely linked to the level of unemployment. As unemployment levels change, the number of women and children eligible to receive Healthy Start vouchers also changes.