Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the dietary health of young children from financially deprived backgrounds.

The Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, as set out in our Child Health Action Plan. The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or can be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHS BSA is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.

The NHS BSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHS BSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them in promoting the scheme.