The Healthy Start Scheme and Day Care Food Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Entitlement to benefit

4.—(1) A person described in paragraph (3) is entitled to benefit in accordance with the Healthy Start scheme.

(2) The benefits to which a person described in paragraph (3) is entitled are—

(a) Healthy Start food to the value represented by a voucher as provided in regulation 10(3); and

(b) Healthy Start vitamins as follows—

(i) in the case of a pregnant woman described in paragraph (3)(a) or (b), 56 tablets of Healthy Start vitamins for every 8 weeks of entitlement;

(ii) in the case of a mother described in paragraph (3)(c) or (d), 56 tablets of Healthy Start vitamins for every 8 weeks of entitlement; or

(iii) in the case of a child described in paragraph (3)(e), 10 millilitres of drops of Healthy Start vitamins for every 8 weeks of entitlement.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person so described is a person who is—

(a) a pregnant woman who is not under the age of 18 and has been pregnant for more than ten weeks and who is, or is a member of the family of a person who is, entitled to—

(i) income support; or

(ii) an income-based jobseeker’s allowance; or

(iii) child tax credit, where the relevant income of the person or persons to whom the award of child tax credit is made under section 14 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 is determined at the time of the award not to exceed £14,155 and the person is not entitled to working tax credit;

(b) a woman under the age of 18 who has been pregnant for more than ten weeks, provided that she is not a person to whom section 115 (exclusion from benefits) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999(1) applies;

(c) a mother who—

(i) before the birth of her child, was entitled to and in receipt of a social security benefit or tax credit mentioned in paragraph (3)(a); and

(ii) has parental responsibility for that child whose date of birth has not been notified to the Department and in respect of whom the period of four months from the estimated date of delivery has not yet passed;

(d) a mother who—

(i) is not under the age of 18,

(ii) has parental responsibility for a child who is under the age of one year, or in respect of whom the first anniversary of the estimated date of delivery has not yet passed, and

(iii) is or is a member of the family of a person who is entitled to income support, an income-based jobseeker’s allowance, or child tax credit, where the relevant income of the person or persons to whom the award of child tax credit is made under section 14 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 is determined at the time of the award not to exceed £14,155 and the person is not entitled to working tax credit; or

(e) a child who is under the age of four years, and who is a member of the family of a person who is entitled to income support, or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance, or child tax credit, where the relevant income of the person or persons to whom the award of child tax credit is made under section 14 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 is determined at the time of the award not to exceed £14,155 and the person is not entitled to working tax credit.

(4) A mother who satisfies the requirements for entitlement by virtue of having parental responsibility for more than one child who is a child mentioned in paragraph (3)(c) or (d) is entitled to the Healthy Start food benefit in respect of each such child.

(5) If a mother would otherwise be entitled to benefit under paragraph (3)(c) or (d) but does not have parental responsibility for a child who is a child mentioned in either of those paragraphs, then any such child is entitled to the Healthy Start food benefit to which the mother would otherwise be entitled.

(6) The entitlement of a child under paragraph (5) is in addition to any entitlement of the child under paragraph (3)(e).

(1)

1999 c. 33, as amended by the State Pension Credit Act 2002 (c. 16), Article 2 of and the Schedule to the Regulatory Reform (Carer’s Allowance) Order 2002, S.I. 2002/1457 and the Tax Credits Act 2002, section 60. Schedule 6, and section 51, Schedule 4, paragraphs 20 and 21