A SCHEME to offer pregnant women grants to spend on wholesome food to improve the health of their unborn child has been branded a gimmick.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson will announce the plan for a Health in Pregnancy Grant in a speech this week, outlining plans to reduce health inequalities between the richest and poorest in England and Wales.

But critics say the scheme is a waste of taxpayers' money and will achieve little.

A Department of Health spokesman confirmed that Mr Johnson hoped to have the scheme in operation by about 2009, but was unable to confirm reports in The Observer that the level of the one-off payment would be set at £120. The paper estimated the cost of the initiative at £70m to £80m a year.

The cash will be given to all mothers seven months into their pregnancy, accompanied by professional health advice on maintaining a balanced diet. Women will be encouraged to spend the money on fruit and vegetables.

But they are expected to be free to spend the cash as they see fit, even on unhealthy products such as cigarettes and alcohol.

The Department of Health spokesman said: "It is something that would be put in place in conjunction with health professionals who already visit pregnant women with healthy diet advice."

A report from former government NHS advisor Sir Derek Wanless is this week expected to call for action to change unhealthy lifestyles in order to reverse Britain's growing obesity problem.

Mr Johnson is expected to say on Thursday that nearly one in 12 babies in England and Wales are born underweight, sometimes because their growth has been retarded by a lack of nutrients.

This not only increases the danger of dying in infancy, but puts them at greater risk of long-term heart problems, diabetes, lung conditions and cognitive disorders.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "The scheme would be an abject waste of taxpayers' money. It smacks of a typical New Labour gimmick that tries to address a serious social issue by throwing money at it.

"The proposal serves to highlight the shameful health inequalities that have embarrassingly widened under this Government.

"There needs to be far more done to get across the value of healthy diets, especially during pregnancy, but this sort of handout will likely achieve nothing of any substance."

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "It is vital to improve public health, but it can't be done with one-off gimmicks.

"This proposal does not appear to result from evaluation of any pilot scheme. What we need is the kind of evidence-based strategy which David Cameron and I put forward earlier this year."