Best Start Foods

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

What is Best Start Foods

Best Start Foods is a benefit for pregnant women or their partners or families who live in Scotland. It’s a payment to help with the cost of being pregnant and looking after a child. It’s paid by Social Security Scotland onto a prepaid card. You can use this to buy certain foods.

Who can get Best Start Foods

 You can get Best Start Foods if:

If you’re under 18 and you or your partner are pregnant or responsible for a child under 3, then you do not need to be getting benefits to be eligible.

If you’re 18 or 19 and you or your partner are pregnant, you don’t need to be getting benefits if your parent or carer receives a benefit for you.

There is more information about who is eligible for Best Start Foods on mygov.scot.

If you're a young parent

If you’re a young parent and have a child under 3 then you don’t need to be getting benefits to be eligible.

You will be able to get Best Start Foods if either you or your partner:

  • are under 18

  • are an 18 or 19 year old dependant

  • were eligible for Best Start Foods during pregnancy because you were under 18 or an 18 or 19 year old dependant.

Your eligibility will continue until the latest date out of:

  • when your child turns 1

  • when your child reaches the first anniversary of their due date

  • when you or your partner turn 18 or stop being a dependant.

If you cannot get certain benefits because of your immigration status

You might be able to get Best Start Foods for your child even if you cannot get certain benefits because of your immigration status. This is also called having no access to public funds.

You can get Best Start Foods if you meet all these conditions:

  • you're responsible for at least 1 child under 3 (not including pregnancies)

  • your family income is £2086.00 or less a month after tax for a couple or £1763.18 or less a month after tax for a single adult

  • you cannot claim public funds because of your immigration status or because you do not have an immigration status

  • you have an address in Scotland.

Read more about Best Start Foods if you have no access to public funds on mygov.scot.

Rules about living in Scotland 

To get Best Start Foods, you need to be living in Scotland.

In some circumstances, you also need to be getting certain benefits in order to be eligible.

If you're not a UK citizen or if you’re a UK citizen who has been living abroad you might not be able to get any of these benefits. So you might not be able to get Best Start Foods, unless you or your partner are under 18 and pregnant or responsible for a child under 3.

If you’re not sure if you can get Best Start Foods because of where you live, get advice. 

Which benefits do you need to be getting

You or your partner usually needs to get 1 of the following benefits: 

  • Income Support

  • income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance

  • Pension Credit

  • Child Tax Credit

  • Working Tax Credit 

  • Housing Benefit

  • Universal Credit

You don’t have to be getting 1 of these benefits if you are under 18. You also don’t have to be getting 1 of these benefits if you are 18 or 19 and your parent or carer gets a benefit with a child element for you.

If you've applied for 1 of these benefits but not had a decision yet, you can still apply to Best Start Foods. You won't get a decision about whether you can get Best Start Foods, until you get a decision about the other benefit. 

If you or your partner stops getting one of these benefits

If you or your partner stops getting one of the qualifying benefits, you must let Social Security Scotland know as soon as possible. You will continue to get Best Start Food payments for 8 weeks after a qualifying benefit stops.

If you don’t let Social Security Scotland know about these changes you could be found guilty of a criminal offence and have to pay a fine. You might also have to pay back any overpayment of Best Start Foods.

If you start getting the benefit again within 12 weeks, tell Social Security Scotland. They can restart your Best Start Foods without you needing to make a new application.

How much is the Best Start Foods

The weekly rate of Best Start Foods is £5.30 during the pregnancy.

Once the child is born, you'll get £10.60 a week until they reach the age of 1. After this you'll get £5.30 a week until they reach the age of 3.

If you have more than 1 child, you'll get payments for each child. There is no limit on the number of children that you can get Best Start payments for.

You will get paid every 4 weeks.

Example

For example, if you are pregnant and have an 11-month-old child and a 2-year-old child, you'll get £21.20 a week.

This is made up of £5.30 because you're pregnant, £10.60 for your 11-month-old child and £5.30 for your 2-year-old.

If you were getting Best Start Foods when you or your partner was pregnant, you should tell Social Security Scotland about your child’s birth within 4 months. If you do this, you’ll get Best Start Foods backdated to the date the child was born.

Best Start Foods is provided as credit on a payment card which can be used in any shop that sells food. It can only be used to buy certain foods. You can read more about using the Best Start Foods card on mygov.scot.

What can a Best Start Foods payment card be used for 

Best Start Foods payment card can be used to pay for: 

  • milk – plain cow’s milk and first instant formula milk

  • fruit and vegetables – can be fresh, frozen or tinned but can't have added salt or sugar

  • pulses – such as peas, lentils and beans which can be dried, fresh, frozen or tinned

  • eggs – fresh eggs only.

There is more information about how to use the Best Start Foods payment card on mygov.scot, including how to use it in shops or online and how to check your Best Start Foods balance.

Healthy Start vitamins

All pregnant women in Scotland are entitled to Healthy Start vitamins and Vitamin D supplements throughout their pregnancy. You can get these from your midwife.

You can also get Vitamin D supplements for your children up until they reach the age of 3. Ask your midwife or health visitor about how to get the vitamins. There are different arrangements in different areas of Scotland.

How to apply for Best Start Foods

 You can apply:

  • online – by completing an online application form on mygov.scot

  • by phone – by by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm

  • by post – you can get a paper form on mygov.scot. You can also ask for a paper form with a prepaid envelope by phone.

If you're a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use the contactSCOTLAND app to contact Social Security Scotland by video relay.

The application process for Best Start Foods is the same as for the Best Start Grant.

The Best Start Grant is a package of 3 payments which low-income families might qualify for at different points in their children's lives:

  • the Pregnancy and Baby Payment - for someone who is over 24 weeks pregnant or has a baby aged up to 6 months

  • the Early Learning Payment - for someone who has a child aged between 2 and 3 and a half

  • the School Age Payment - for someone with a child who is school-starting age.

You only need to apply once for the Best Start Grant and for the Best Start Foods. The 1 application is used for both benefits.

If you previously applied for Best Start Foods but wasn’t eligible because of the old income thresholds, you can apply again to be reconsidered.

Read more about applying for the Best Start Grant.

If different applications are received, an application from the pregnant woman will take precedence over another. If no application is made by the pregnant woman, Social Security Scotland will decide who to pay.

You can also fill in a form to authorise someone to speak to Social Security Scotland on your behalf. This might be helpful if you feel unable to find the information you need or understand things about your application. You can download a third-party authorisation form on mygov.scot.

Challenging a Best Start Foods decision

You can ask Social Security Scotland to look again at the decision about your Best Start Foods application. You must do this within 31 days of the date that you found about the decision.

Social Security Scotland must then review its decision within 16 working days.

There is no right of appeal if you still don't agree with the review decision.

If you're paid too much Best Start Foods

If you're paid too much Best Start Foods, Social Security Scotland will decide if you have to pay the money back. It will look at the details of why you were overpaid when it makes its decision.

If you know that you're not entitled to Best Start Foods, perhaps because you're not getting a qualifying benefit any more, you must tell Social Security Scotland as soon as possible. If you don't, you could be committing a criminal offence. If found guilty, you could be sent to prison or given a fine. 

If your circumstances change 

You’ll need to tell Social Security Scotland if your circumstances change. This includes if:

  • your other benefits stop, like Universal Credit

  • your personal details change, like your name or address.

Find out more and check how to report a change of circumstances on mygov.scot.