Scottish Government food welfare plans include scrapping stigmatising paper food vouchers and giving families more freedom to buy what they need

Families on low incomes with small children are to get more cash and support to stop them having to turn to foodbanks.

The Scottish Government has announced a new packet of food welfare plans that will see some families get 30% more a week in emergency cash for food. Old-fashioned paper food vouchers are to be binned in favour of digital smartcards that also aim to reduce the stigma of food welfare.

The government is now consulting on the plans to reshape the Food Welfare scheme, an element of the welfare system that has been newly devolved to Scotland.

The proposals could see allowances rise from £3.10 a week to £4.25 and week with the total amount a family could receive over a period of welfare support increased by over 10% from £899 to £1,011.

The range of food that can be bought through the scheme is also set to increase. Currently Healthy Start food vouchers can only be used for cows milk, fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables and infant formula milk. Pre-cooked, dried or tinned fruit and vegetables, fruit juice and smoothies are just some of the foods that you can’t buy.

Scotland’s public health minister Aileen Campbell said: “Central to our aim of improving Scotland’s health and tackling inequality is ensuring everyone can have a healthy diet, especially families with young children. There is strong evidence that diet impacts on children’s health, their ability to learn and their life chances as they grow up.

“For too many families, poverty and deprivation are daily barriers to eating healthily. Our plans set out how we can further support families to make healthier choices, ensure the system is as easy as possible to use, while reducing stigma and increasing take-up.”

Rosie Dodds, an independent nutritionist from First Steps Nutrition Trust, said: “I warmly welcome these proposals to increase the value of the Healthy Start voucher. Far too many parents with young children experience food insecurity and skip meals to feed their children. I hope there will be many contributions to the consultation as well as work to ensure that all eligible families receive this help to buy healthy foods.”

The proposal is to continue to provide free milk to under fives in nurseries and other child care settings but to also add on a health snack.

Maggie Simpson, chief executive of Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA), said: “SCMA is pleased to support the proposal to retain free milk for all services providing care to children under five, including childminders. Extending this entitlement to include a healthy snack is something we are very much in favour of.

“Childminders play a key role in encouraging healthy eating, as we know the eating habits developed in early years often continue into adulthood. This is an ideal opportunity for childcare providers to support healthy food choices.”

The consultation on Welfare Foods is running until 28 June.