08 Sep Department of Health and Social Care to consider families with pre-settled status without a qualifying “right to reside” in ongoing consultation into the Healthy Start Scheme eligibility criteria

Department of Health and Social Care to consider families with pre-settled status without a qualifying right to reside in ongoing consultation into the Healthy Start Scheme eligibility criteria

Following a threat of judicial review proceedings by Gold Jennings, the Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) have agreed to consider extending the Healthy Start Scheme to families with pre-settled status without a qualifying “right to reside” in its ongoing consultation.

Background

The Healthy Start Scheme aims to reduce child poverty and health inequalities by providing free vitamins, nutritional advice and weekly vouchers to buy nutritional food or infant formula to low-income families with pregnant women and children up to the age of 4. It is intended to benefit those in the “greatest need”.

However, the current eligibility criteria excludes some of the UK’s poorest children in the UK from migrant backgrounds because their families are unable to claim mainstream benefits, which is the trigger for entitlement. As a consequence, babies and toddlers from the most financially deprived households were going without the nutritional food and vitamins needed for a healthy start in life.

In 2020, Gold Jennings brought a judicial review challenging the Healthy Start scheme’s eligibility criteria on behalf of a British child who was excluded from the Healthy Start Scheme due to her mother’s inability to claim mainstream benefits as a result of her immigration status. This claim was successful, resulting the DHSC agreeing to amend the Regulations so that British children whose parents would meet the financial criteria to claim welfare benefits, but are unable to do so as a result of their immigration status (or lack of immigration status), would be entitled to support provided under the Healthy Start Scheme.

It was agreed that the Regulations would be amended following a public consultation considering whether to broaden the criteria for eligibility and, in the meantime, an ex-gratia scheme was created whereby newly eligible NRPF families could claim the support.

Unfortunately, the consultation was significantly delayed over a period of 4 years, despite numerous promises by the DHSC. Eventually, on 31 July 2024,  following a pre-action protocol letter sent by Gold Jennings on behalf of another NRPF family with a non-British child (who was therefore unable to access the ex-gratia scheme), the DHSC launched a consultation considering whether to extend the scheme to all families with NRPF (regardless of the child’s immigration position). The consultation closed for responses in December 2024 however the DSHC has yet to publish a response and an outcome is still pending.

Recent judicial review challenge

Recently in May 2025, Gold Jennings sent a further pre-action letter to the DHSC challenging the exclusion of families with pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme from both the mainstream Healthy Start Scheme and the ex-gratia scheme. These families with pre-settled status (but with no qualifying “right to reside”) are unable to access mainstream benefits and as a result are unable access the mainstream scheme. Furthermore, it became apparent that these families are also unable to access the ex-gratia scheme on the basis they are not subject to a “no recourse to public funds” restriction (even if their children are British and would otherwise be eligible).

Outcome

In July 2025, the DHSC confirmed that this cohort of people had not been considered as part of the consultation nor the development of the scheme thus far. It was agreed that extending the scheme to  families with pre-settled status (but who are unable to access mainstream benefits such as Universal Credit because they do not have a qualifying “right to reside”) would now be considered and form part of the Government’s response to the consultation.

The DHSC has stated that their aim is to complete the consultation and provide a consultation response as to whether they will expand the eligibility criteria of the Healthy Start Scheme to include such families by the end of 2025.

We would therefore encourage any organisations supporting these families or those with lived experience to provide information about the impact of the exclusion of this cohort from the Healthy Start Scheme to be taken into account as part of this consultation by sending it to the email address provided on the consultation website: nrpfconsultation@dhsc.gov.uk 

Olivia Halse, Senior Associate Solicitor, and Helen Wang, Trainee Solicitor of Gold Jennings worked on this case – www.goldjennings.co.uk

For further information about this claim or any  please do not hesitate to contact Olivia Halse (olivia@goldjennings.co.uk).