healthy start

Hi

I am hoping for some guidance in relation to the healthy start scheme. I have a client who receives ESA IR and is pregnant. She has 3 children already, one of whom is 15 months old. She was getting CTC but this has ended due to issues around single/joint claims. She has reclaimed CTC but this is taking a while to process. She tells me that her HS vouchers for her child have ended and after she has called HS she was told HMRC have notified them that she is not entitled to CTC hence no HSV.

Cpag 834-835 states (in summary for her circumstances) that if pregnant and aged 18+ you would need to entitled to a qualifying benefit to get HS; or you can get them for a child aged under 4 if you are in receipt of a QB but NOT ESA IR

A QB is IS, JSA (IB) and CTC with an income less than £16190.

This seems to say that she can get HSV for herself (as pregnant) but not her child.

I have trawled some regs and cannot find that ESA is precluded, but nothing to say that it is included. Im just wondering if this is a policy intention or an oversight? regs from 2005 indication IS/JSA/CTC as QB but ESA wouldn’t have existed then, and claimants would be on IB (which is not means tested and I guess hence not included) or IS on the basis of ill health - so would be caught by the QB. I have checked 2008 and 2009 and though I may have missed it, I cant find any amendments to add in ESA IR.  More recently UC with an income of less than £408 monthly earnings has been added. Im therefore totally baffled as to why ESA IR is not included. HS website shows ESA as a QB as does ..gov but there is no clarification to say that this does not apply to Mothers, only to those who are pregnant.

Is there anything that I have missed? or misunderstood? can anyone explain the justification for this?

thank you