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The Welfare Food Scheme provides tokens which can be exchanged for liquid milk, infant formula and vitamins. The scheme is available to pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under five in families receiving qualifying benefits. From 1 October 2004, the claiming system is changing for pregnant women - they will need to claim tokens directly from the Token Distribution Unit, rather than their local benefit office as previously.
Women eligible to claim will need to complete the new form, get it endorsed by a health professional, and then post it in the pre-paid envelope provided. The benefits are available from ten weeks into the pregnancy.
The health professional can endorse the claim either by completing section B of the new form, or, as they do currently, by providing a letter confirming the expected delivery date. This can happen when the woman attends a routine history-taking appointment, which normally happens soon after the tenth week of pregnancy - indeed, one of the aims of this change is to get women meeting with health professionals and receiving their benefits earlier in their pregnancy.
No additional work is anticipated for the health professional - in fact, completing the form should be quicker than writing a letter of endorsement.
The form and pre-paid envelope will be provided in the explanatory leaflet 'Free Milk for Pregnant Women', which will be available on 1 September from health professionals and the Department of Health website.
If you would be able to display or distribute a small stock of leaflets, please order them from 08701 555 455, asking for the 40537 Welfare Food Scheme Free Milk Application Leaflet. An A4 poster promoting this scheme to pregnant women is also available.
For more information, email: healthystart@doh.gov.uk