Hancock gives in over discriminatory 'Healthy Start' scheme for poor children

AN ethnic minority family has won a legal battle concerning the 'Healthy Start' scheme that provides vitamins, milk and vegetables to poorest children in England and Wales.

Health secretary Matt Hancock had to give in after the lawyers for the family challenged the policy as discriminatory, when they were denied weekly vouchers worth £4.25.

Under immigration rules, parents who do not have a final settled status in the UK - even if they are legally living or working in the country - are banned from receiving any of the UK's mainstream benefits.

The lawyers said because of the ban many ethnic minority children whose parents were not fully settled in the UK, were unfairly affected.

Until granted full rights of settlement, the ban applies to almost all migrants - including the partners or close relatives of British citizens. The families despite meeting the poverty test, their applications for the Healthy Start scheme were automatically rejected by the Department of Health.

Lawyers of the family with a one-year-old launched a judicial review of the rule, with the child's mother being lawfully living in the UK and her income lower than 40 per cent meeting the claiming benefits.

But she was denied vouchers by the officials because of her non-permanent immigration status, despite the child having British citizenship through the father, her ex-partner.

Her lawyers challenged the Department of Health's refusal and said the children from black and ethnic minority backgrounds were unlawfully discriminated.

In February, the High Court had ordered the case against the policy overseen by Hancock to go to a full hearing. But the ministers are no more fighting the challenge and have told officials to provide vouchers to the family, also promising full review of the scheme.

Olivia Halse, the claimants' solicitor, told BBC: "This is a great outcome for some of the most disadvantaged children in our society who should have never been excluded from accessing this essential support in the first place.

"We hope this extension will go some way toward tackling health inequalities and child food poverty in the UK and help provide these children with a healthy start in life."