David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s community wellbeing board said: “Every year millions of pounds of vital Healthy Start vouchers go unclaimed and families miss out on free fruit, vegetables and milk.

“At this challenging time of rising food prices and overall cost of living, we need the Government to ramp up efforts to ensure all eligible families can access healthy and nutritious food to give children and babies the best start in life.

“Our analysis shows that prices of food have increased drastically since costs were set for the scheme 18 months ago. If the scheme is to help as many people as it can, the vouchers must reflect current inflationary food prices.

“The Government should also shift from an ‘opt-in’ to an ‘opt-out’ registration system for the vouchers, which would remove any barriers families face when applying online and drive take up.”