The Mayor of London has announced £4.7 million to extend a free financial advice programme for families on low incomes, with plans to expand it from 12 boroughs to 19 over the next two years.
The Family Financial Resilience Partnership brings advice into family hubs and children’s centres, helping parents and carers find out what support they may be entitled to. City Hall has not yet named the seven boroughs that will join the programme or given a breakdown of the new funding by borough.
Haringey and Barking and Dagenham are among the 12 boroughs where the partnership already operates. Their inclusion in the existing scheme does not mean they are among the seven new areas.
Help with benefits, housing and other needs
The partnership was established earlier this year, with £2.2 million invested in advice for families during 2026. It brings local authorities together with advice organisations so that families can seek support in settings they may already use.
The advice covers benefit entitlement, debt, housing, childcare, disability and immigration, with referrals for employment support. The purpose of the programme is to help families understand and access support; the funding announcement is not a promise of a direct cash payment to every family.
City Hall says the partnership helped more than 6,000 families secure more than £5.4 million in financial support during its first six months. It also estimates that the extension could help around 29,000 further families access £18 million. Those latter figures are projections, not money already received or a guaranteed outcome.
The current boroughs are Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. City Hall says the original selection took account of levels and numbers of children experiencing deprivation and disability.
What families can use now
One existing service is at Rising Green Family Hub in Wood Green. Haringey Council says eligible families can receive free, confidential advice there on benefits and income, housing, debt and employment. Sessions are held on Wednesdays and appointments must be booked in advance through a self-referral form.
For that Haringey service, the council describes eligible families as those on low incomes with children up to 19. It extends the age limit to 25 for young people with special educational needs or disabilities and for care leavers. Families can contact the council’s family-hub team for information.
Arrangements may differ between services. Families in an existing partnership borough should check local availability and referral arrangements rather than assume every hub offers the same appointment times. The additional boroughs have yet to be confirmed.
Separate funding for benefit take-up
The Mayor also announced nearly £750,000 for other work to help Londoners claim support and for improvements to the Cost of Living Hub. City Hall says this work will continue with boroughs and includes benefits such as Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, disability benefits and Universal Credit.
It estimates that the separate funding could reach 32,500 households and help them secure £15 million in additional income. As with the family partnership’s forecast, those are potential future results rather than completed claims.
Across several advice and benefit take-up programmes, City Hall says more than 170,000 households have secured over £108 million since April 2022. That total covers a range of programmes and should not be attributed to the family partnership alone. City Hall puts the estimated annual value of unclaimed benefits across London at more than £4 billion.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
