Tom Kerridge blasts ‘unacceptable’ child poverty scheme as he unleashes veiled dig at Starmer policy

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has joined campaigners urging Labour to strengthen the Healthy Start scheme as part of its forthcoming child poverty strategy.

The 51-year-old chef is among those calling for urgent improvements to the programme, which helps families with young children purchase nutritious food.

Campaigners say the current scheme is falling short and requires significant reform to reach more people in need.

The Healthy Start scheme currently operates across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is available to those who are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have children under the age of four and receive certain benefits.

The programme provides support for purchasing healthy foods like milk and fruit, along with free vitamins and has been a huge help to those who qualify.

Labour’s child poverty taskforce, working with devolved governments, is set to publish its strategy this spring to widen the criteria for people to be able to claim the vouchers.

In a letter coordinated by The Food Foundation, campaigners are calling for several key changes to the scheme.

One of the biggest changes to the scheme is the need for eligibility to be expanded to include all families on Universal Credit and coverage extended to children under five.

The letter also demands that payment values be increased in line with inflation.

Campaigners are pushing to replace the current “opt-in” system with auto-enrollment, saying the existing approach creates barriers for families seeking aid.

Research from The Food Foundation last year revealed stark disparities in food insecurity across UK households.

Nearly a fifth (18 percent) of households with children reported experiencing food insecurity – defined as lacking money for sufficient food or worrying about future food shortages.

This rate was significantly higher than the 11.7 per cent of households without children facing similar challenges.

“It is unacceptable that in a country like the UK we still have such a high number of households with children suffering from food insecurity,” said Kerridge.

“We know how important it is for children to eat properly so they can grow up and thrive.”

“The Government’s Healthy Start scheme has the potential to help but is currently not reaching the people who need it most. Improvements to the scheme need to be urgently included in the Government’s upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.”

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The letter was addressed to three senior Labour figures – Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall.

Representatives from various charitable organisations and medical bodies signed the appeal.

The campaigners stressed that “urgent improvements are needed to prevent malnutrition and give children the best possible start in life.”