Haringey's voluntary and community sector organisations are set to receive a £15,000 boost to provide warm spaces for residents this winter. The funding, approved by Councillor Seema Chandwani, Cabinet Member for Resident Services & Tackling Inequality, is part of a wider £4.24 million Household Support Fund allocation from the government.

The allocation was approved at a Cabinet Member Signing meeting on 8 October 2025, where the council outlined its plans for distributing the £4,241,687.45 Household Support Fund for the period of 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The fund aims to support vulnerable households with essential costs like energy, food, and water bills.

The £15,000 earmarked for warm spaces will be distributed to voluntary and community sector organisations. This provision was previously funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which has now ended.

The council will also allocate:

  • £1.99 million for free school meal vouchers during the holidays.
  • £1.23 million for direct cash payments to families in financial stress, pensioner households, low-income families with young children, care leavers and households with no recourse to public funds.
  • Direct cash payments of £195 to households in financial stress with a disabled claimant or partner, and households in receipt of Council Tax Support and/or Housing Benefit with a disabled child.
  • £544,000 to the Haringey Support Fund, an application-based process for households most in need.
  • £66,000 to the Council Tax Discretionary Hardship Fund.

The council will use a data-driven approach to distribute the majority of funds, minimising administration costs and ensuring those most in need are supported without having to make a claim. A proportion of the funding will be made available to claim through the Haringey Support Fund so that all residents in hardship have the opportunity to claim additional support. All support will be available to households with No Recourse to Public Funds in line with government guidance.

The Public Reports Pack states that the council will work closely with voluntary and community sector partners to promote awareness of the application-based scheme and encourage applications from hard-to-reach communities.

The Minutes of the meeting state that alternative options considered included higher values of vouchers distributed to residents. However, these options were discounted as it would leave insufficient funding for the Haringey Support Fund, which was the application-based route required by the Fund's rules.