Best Start Foods eligibility changes come into force

Best Start Foods eligibility rules change on 26 February 2024, Social Security Scotland has said, in a move the Scottish Government expects to make the benefit available to around 20,000 more people¹. 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 food¹.

The main change is that income limits will no longer apply to any qualifying benefits, and people will continue to get Best Start Foods for eight weeks when any qualifying benefit ends, not just Universal Credit¹. Expectant parents under 18 and dependants aged 18 and 19 will not require a qualifying benefit if they meet the residency criteria, and this also applies to the people a pregnant applicant is dependent on¹. Qualifying benefits will not be required for a child under 3 where the person responsible for them, or their partner, meets the residency criteria and is under 18, is 18 or 19 and a dependant, or was eligible during pregnancy because they were under 18 or an 18 or 19 year old dependant¹.

Eligibility in those cases continues until the child turns one, the child reaches the first anniversary of its estimated delivery date, the person responsible or their partner turns 18, or that person stops being a dependant, whichever is later¹. People will remain eligible until the end of the pregnancy even if they turn 18 or stop being a dependant¹.

Other process changes take effect on the same date. An application from someone who is pregnant takes precedence over an application from anyone else, and where multiple applications relate to a pregnancy and none is from the pregnant woman, Social Security Scotland will decide who to award¹. Anyone applying on behalf of a child under 3 must meet the residency criteria, as must those responsible for a child under 3, or their partners, for the child to be eligible¹. Appointees can be made in some situations where someone under 16 lacks capacity to be paid, but only where there is no person who has authority to act, is willing to act on their behalf and lives with the person¹.

Where someone applies too early, their application can be treated as if it were received up to 10 days later¹. In some circumstances a new decision can be made where an individual was previously denied for lack of a qualifying or child responsibility benefit, if they have since received a backdated award of that benefit covering the date of their original Best Start Foods application¹.

Applications made before 26 February 2024 will be decided under the previous criteria, which may mean people are declined who would have qualified had they waited until 26 February¹. Those declined under the previous rules may apply again, and people who used to get Best Start Foods and had it stopped because their income was too high may become eligible again and can reapply¹. Balances can be checked online at www.allpayprepaid.net, at cashpoints or by calling allpay on 0808 196 1687¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects families in Scotland with a child under 3 or a baby on the way who were previously excluded by income limits attached to qualifying benefits, and younger parents who did not qualify because they were under 18 or an 18 or 19 year old dependant¹. For those groups, the requirement to be on a qualifying benefit falls away from 26 February 2024, provided the residency criteria are met¹. The eight week run-on after a qualifying benefit ends is also widened beyond Universal Credit¹. Anyone whose application is decided before that date is assessed on the old rules, so the date an application is received can determine the outcome¹. The payment itself is unchanged in form: every four weeks on a chip and pin card, for food¹. Separate help with food, milk and vitamins for pregnant women and young children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is covered in the guide to Healthy Start, and the wider benefits section covers other support.

What happens next

The new criteria apply from 26 February 2024, and Social Security Scotland says people who think they are only eligible under the new criteria should apply on that day or as soon as possible after¹. No further implementation dates have been reported.