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Written question asked by Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Anna Turley (Labour) on Monday, 7 September 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Healthy Start Scheme

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the availability and accessibility of Healthy Start vouchers for people within the immigration and asylum systems.

Answer

The Home Office provides support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute in order to comply with its legal obligations. The support package provided usually consists of accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to meet other essential living needs.

Additional financial support is also available to pregnant women and children under the age of 4 for the purposes of buying healthy food. Pregnant women and young children aged between 1 and 4 each receive an additional £5.25 per week. Babies under 1 each receive an additional £9.50 per week.

These payments were amended in 2023 to align with the Department of Health and Social Care’s ‘Healthy Start’ payments, with an additional allowance added onto this to allow for the purchase of vitamins, which are provided separately as part of the Healthy Start scheme.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
24823
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Asylum Healthy start scheme
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk