Healthy Start is a national scheme which helps young families and those pregnant on low incomes to access nutritious food, milk and vitamins. Figures are published on its take-up at local authority level, with one of the best rates of take-up being County Durham. In February 2023 the England average uptake was 63.5 per cent, while the figure for County Durham was 73 per cent.
Background
With the rising cost of living having a huge impact on low-income families, it is more important than ever to help them access the support they are entitled to. That includes Healthy Start, which helps young families and those pregnant on low incomes to access nutritious food, milk and vitamins. Eligible families can apply for a pre-paid card which they can use to buy fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula, along with free vitamins.
Healthy Start is a national scheme but figures are published on its take-up at local authority level. One of the best rates of take-up is in County Durham. In February 2023 the England average uptake was 63.5 per cent, while the figure for County Durham was 73 per cent.
The local context
The North East of England region saw the most dramatic rise in child poverty between 2014 and 2021, from 26 per cent to 38 per cent (Action for Children). Michelle Baldwin, Public Health Strategic Manager at Durham County Council, said the 0-4 age group is being particularly affected.
“Poverty has always been high on our agenda in County Durham,” she said.
We recognise the impact of poverty on health and wellbeing outcomes for children as well as families, and we work hard to help our residents. That being said, we have about 1,500 families who are eligible for Healthy Start and not claiming – so we recognise there is still a lot of work to do.”
Poverty action plan
The team is working hard to ensure that Healthy Start is embedded across Durham County Council, and that the issues relating to poverty are clear. This work is supported by the multi-agency child poverty working group. There is a robust governance structure for this group which includes a Healthy Start steering group. Here, they drill down into the data and ensure that Healthy Start is embedded in all agendas, such as the healthy weight and oral health strategies.
Michelle Baldwin said:
We don’t look at the Healthy Start scheme uptake in isolation, we look at the wider needs of the family and try to support them in every way possible. Healthy Start is threaded throughout, not a stand-alone piece of work. We make it everybody’s business.”
This ‘whole system’ approach ensures that all service providers have a responsibility for directing families to support. This starts with maternity services and health visiting, to ensure that meaningful conversations with families take place from the earliest opportunity.
County Durham has extra locally mandated health visitor contacts. This provides additional opportunities to have conversations about general wellbeing and healthy eating at each visit. The Healthy Start scheme is included in these discussions where appropriate, along with help to apply (if needed) and a broader wellbeing review – with families linked into financial advice if required.
The council has produced a local Healthy Start leaflet, distributed through its Family Hubs, recognising that some vulnerable families don’t have access to information online. The leaflet was co-produced with families and includes local contact details for advice and support.
Amanda Healey, Director of Public Health for County Durham, said: “We make sure that the Healthy Start message runs across our news and publications, but it’s specifically targeted in those areas where there is likely to be a higher level of need. We also make sure families know what to do with that money – the health visitors have produced meal plans on how people can use the scheme, for example.”
The team is working with the council’s performance and intelligence team to increase their understanding of the data and intelligence. This will lead to more targeted work within specific communities. Using local intelligence and data helps to reveal what the local challenges are.
Unfortunately, there is still some stigma for some families around asking for support, and County Durham is working to overcome those barriers through the whole-community approach and co-production. At the same time, there are many working families struggling with financial pressures who are not eligible for Healthy Start, so the team is keen to work with those families too.
Learning points
- County Durham’s councillors are committed to the anti-poverty agenda, which helps to embed it across the council and keeps it high on everyone’s agenda.
- Durham County Council is a trailblazer for the Family Hubs programme, and its 15 Family Hubs provide an invaluable opportunity to link families into support such as Healthy Start and financial advice.
- They are also looking at the issue of free school meals uptake, working with young people to explore the barriers and how uptake could be increased.