Changes to Best Start Foods - information for advice organisations

Best Start Foods is paid every four weeks on a chip and pin card to help eligible families with children under 3 or a baby on the way with the cost of healthy food.

Income limits will be removed, eligibility for younger parents will expand and other changes will be made to processes.

• income limits will no longer apply to any qualifying benefits
• people will continue to get Best Start Foods for eight weeks when any qualifying benefit ends, not just Universal Credit

• expectant parents under 18 and dependants aged 18 and 19 will not require a qualifying benefit, if they meet the residency criteria. This also applies to people that those who are pregnant are dependent on
• people will remain eligible until the end of the pregnancy even if they turn 18 or stop being a dependant
• qualifying benefits won’t be required for a child under 3 if the person responsible for them or their partner meets residency criteria and is either:
  • under 18
  • 18 or 19 years old and a dependant
  • eligible during pregnancy because they are under 18 or an 18 or 19 year old dependant
• eligibility will continue until:
  • the child turns one, or
  • the child reaches the first anniversary of its estimated delivery date, or
  • the person responsible for the child or their partner turns 18, or
  • the person responsible for the child or their partner stops being a dependant, whichever is later

• appointees can be made in some situations where someone under 16 lacks capacity to be paid
• appointees can only be made where there is no person who has authority to act, is willing to act on their behalf and lives with the person

• an application from someone who is pregnant takes precedence over an application from anyone else
• if multiple applications are received in relation to a pregnancy and none are from the pregnant woman, Social Security Scotland will decide who to award

• anyone who applies on behalf of a child under 3 will need to meet the residency criteria
• those responsible for a child under 3, or their partners, must meet the residency criteria in order for the child to be eligible

Where required, payment on behalf of an entitled person can be made to whoever is considered appropriate.

• where someone applies too early, their application can be treated as if it were received up to 10 days later
• in some circumstances a new decision can be made where an individual has previously been denied due to the lack of a qualifying or child responsibility benefit. If they have subsequently received a backdated award of that benefit which covers the date of their original Best Start Foods application, a new decision could be made.

On 26 February 2024. People who think they are only eligible under the new criteria should not apply before this date. They should apply on the day or as soon as possible after.

A decision will be made on their application under the previous criteria. This may mean people are declined who would qualify if they had waited until 26 February. If an application is declined under the previous rules, people may apply again. Those who used to get Best Start Foods and had it stopped because they had too much income may become eligible again. They too can reapply.

Balances can be checked online at www.allpayprepaid.net, at cashpoints or by calling allpay on 0808 196 1687.