Local authority leaders have called on the Government to reform the Healthy Start Vouchers scheme as a new analysis reveals that hundreds of thousands of eligible families are missing out.

The Healthy Start scheme offers funds worth £4.25 per week to pregnant women and children who are in low-income families. Funds can be used to purchase fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula.

A new analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that nearly 150,000 families a month are currently missing out on the support offered by the scheme.

The LGA also found that take up varied from council to council, with 87% being the highest in Redcar and Cleveland while Redbridge is on only 50%, the lowest in the country. London boroughs had a 9% lower take up compared with the rest of the country.

On average, those areas with higher overall levels of deprivation had lower take up, according to the analysis.

The LGA also urged the Government to ensure that the value of the vouchers reflected the rate of inflation. The cost of staple items such as milk and tomatoes has risen from between 21% and 47% since prices were set for the vouchers in April 2021.

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board said: ‘Every year millions of pounds of vital Healthy Start vouchers go unclaimed and families miss out on free fruit, vegetables and milk. At this challenging time of rising food prices and overall cost of living, we need Government to ramp up efforts to ensure all eligible families can access healthy and nutritious food to give children and babies the best start in life.

‘Our analysis shows that prices of food have increased drastically since costs were set for the scheme 18 months ago. If the scheme is to help as many people as it can, the vouchers must reflect current inflationary food prices.

‘The Government should also shift from an “opt in” to an “opt out” registration system for the vouchers, which would remove any barriers families face when applying online and drive take up.’