City Hall's £4.7m extends free benefits advice at Haringey family hubs, with weekly appointments in Muswell Hill and Wood Green. Checked November 2026.
Free advice on benefits, housing and debt for low-income families in Haringey is set to run for two more years, after the Mayor of London announced £4.7m on Wednesday 4 November. Haringey is one of the 12 boroughs where the Family Financial Resilience Partnership already works, and appointments run every week at four family hubs.
City Hall says the money takes the partnership to 19 boroughs. The other seven have not been named. The release does not say how much of the £4.7m comes to Haringey, or how many families here have been helped so far.
Where to book in Haringey
Citizens Advice Haringey gives the advice in the borough’s Best Start Family Hubs. There is no hub in Crouch End itself. Muswell Hill and Rising Green in Wood Green are each a little over a mile away in a straight line.
The council’s listings show one session a week at each hub, by appointment only:
| Hub | Address | When | Next date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muswell Hill | Hillfield Park, N10 3QJ | Mondays, 9am to 4pm | 9 November |
| Park Lane | 139 Park Lane, Tottenham, N17 0HB | Tuesdays, 9am to 4pm | 10 November |
| Rising Green | Unit 2A, Lymington Avenue, Wood Green, N22 6JA | Wednesdays, 10am to 4pm | 11 November |
| Triangle | 91-93 St Ann’s Road, N15 6NU | Thursdays, 9am to 4pm | 5 November |
The dates currently listed run to mid-December. You cannot simply turn up: appointments are booked in advance through the self-referral form.
The council says the service is for:
- low-income families with children up to 19
- young people up to 25 with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
- care leavers up to 25
For questions, the council’s hub address is familyhubs@haringey.gov.uk. The Triangle hub also lists a phone number, 020 8802 8782.
What the scheme has done so far
In its first six months the partnership helped more than 6,000 families across the 12 boroughs secure more than £5.4m, City Hall says. Its notes to editors round that to £6m. The extension could help around 29,000 more families reach £18m, according to the same release.
The only borough figure in the release is for Barking and Dagenham, where the council leader says 612 families were supported in the first six months. City Hall describes the advice as covering benefits, debt, housing, childcare, disability and immigration, with referrals for employment support.
Sadiq Khan said: “I’m committed to doing everything I can to support Londoners with the cost of living and am proud that we have already helped over 170,000 Londoners claim more than £108m in financial support that they are entitled to. This money is making a big difference to help their daily lives and that’s why I’m providing further funding to ensure even more families on low incomes can get support.”
Dr Debbie Weekes-Bernard, the Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, said: “We know that so many Londoners are struggling to get by, yet are completely unaware or unable to access the financial support that is available to them. As winter approaches and concerns about covering bills increase, we’re delighted to be extending the work of the Family Financial Resilience Partnership to more boroughs so that even more families can access the support they’re entitled to.”
Jonathan Mogford, who chairs London Citizens Advice, said: “Citizens Advice has deep and trusted links into London’s diverse communities, many of whom are impacted by hardship, the cost-of-living crisis, as well as housing and immigration challenges. So we are delighted to be working with the GLA for a further two years, expanding our services in Family Hub settings.”
Nezahat Cihan, chief executive of the London Legal Support Trust, said the money “will enable families across the additional boroughs to access high-quality, specialist legal advice through our centres as part of a wider partnership that provides wrap-around services.”
The release also quotes a parent helped at a hub in Barking, who had sought advice on a son’s special educational needs. “We no longer feel that we have to navigate these challenges alone, which has made a meaningful difference to our family,” the parent said.
Haringey tops London’s Pension Credit table
A second pot of nearly £750,000 continues the Mayor’s work with boroughs and the data firm Policy in Practice. It also pays for improvements to City Hall’s Cost of Living Hub. City Hall says this could reach 32,500 households across London and bring them £15m, through benefits including Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and Universal Credit.
The release gives no borough split for that work, but City Hall’s campaign table does. Haringey has the largest Pension Credit figure of the 26 boroughs with a total. Its £4,060,383 a year is about a tenth of the London figure of £40,863,318.
For Haringey the table shows:
- Pension Credit: 3,192 households contacted, £4,060,383 a year
- Attendance Allowance: 915 households contacted, £523,255 a year
- Healthy Start: 1,967 households identified, £22,047 claimed
Added together, that is about £4.6m. The 3,192 households contacted is also the highest count in the Pension Credit table. The table does not say how many of them went on to claim, or why Haringey’s total is so far ahead. Policy in Practice says its figures are accurate as of December 2025.
Behind Haringey come Lambeth at £2,960,352, Camden at £2,679,646, Ealing at £2,531,523 and Hackney at £2,100,599. Croydon’s figure is listed as not currently available.
Across London, City Hall counts £108m reaching 170,000 households since April 2022, across four programmes:
- Benefit take-up campaigns: £52m to 55,000 households
- Advising Londoners Partnership: £43m to 98,000 households
- Advice in Community Settings: £7m to 11,000 households
- Family Financial Resilience Partnership: £6m to 6,000 households
Policy in Practice estimates that Londoners miss out on around £4bn in benefits each year. Its Missing Out 2025 report sets out the wider picture. City Hall’s polling, published with the campaign figures, found 17% of Londoners financially struggling and a further 31% just about managing.
“Delivering over £108 million directly into residents’ pockets is a powerful reminder of what collaborative, proactive action can achieve,” said Abigail Everett, head of client services at Policy in Practice.
What it means for you
If you have children and a low income, the family hub appointments are the direct route. The first listed sessions are Triangle on Thursday 5 November and Muswell Hill on Monday 9 November. Book through the form before you travel.
If you do not qualify for a hub appointment, Citizens Advice Haringey runs an Adviceline on 0808 278 7966 and a webchat. Its website says: “We don’t offer a face to face service at this time.”
If you are over State Pension age on a low income, Pension Credit is worth checking first. City Hall says it also unlocks:
- help with energy and council tax bills
- free NHS dental treatment
- Housing Benefit for renters
- a free TV licence at 75 or over
You can see what each band pays on our Crouch End council tax page.
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