Haringey Council has significantly boosted its support for struggling families by approving an interim policy for the 2026/27 Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). The decision, made at a Cabinet Member Signing meeting on Friday, July 10, 2026, allocates substantial funding to address financial hardship across the borough.

The new policy includes an extension of free school meal holiday vouchers until September 2026, at an estimated additional cost of £966,000. Following this, a more targeted approach to holiday payments for families facing financial difficulties will be implemented. This will differ from the current voucher system by focusing on households at risk of financial hardship, rather than a universal provision for all eligible for free school meals. The council is evaluating its approach for the 2026/27 academic year onwards to ensure this targeted approach aligns with the fund's objectives and supports long-term financial resilience.

Furthermore, the Financial Support Team is set to be expanded with an investment of approximately £1.74 million. This expansion will see 14 new officers join the team, including three new Financial Support Advisor roles and ten new Financial Support Officer roles, in addition to an extra manager. The Financial Support Advisors will cover the financial support helpline, provide basic advice, triage, and undertake administration tasks, while the Financial Support Officers will focus on detailed and holistic one-to-one casework. This expansion is projected to significantly increase the team's capacity, enabling the extension of the financial support helpline to 9 am-5 pm Monday to Friday, embedding support at points of acute need, proactively addressing gaps identified by the Low-Income Family Tracker, increasing community visibility and engagement, and supporting residents in debt.

To expedite assistance, the council has approved an estimated £200,432 to increase the number of crisis fund decision-makers by two Benefits Officers for two years. This will allow for more comprehensive assessments and tailored support.

A one-off expenditure of £30,000 has been allocated for the development of a streamlined online application form. This new portal will integrate multiple crisis fund applications and a benefits calculator, enabling residents to apply for various forms of support through a single platform and receive immediate information on potential benefit entitlements.

Additionally, funding of approximately £220,221 has been approved for a strategic community coordination role. This role will focus on designing and delivering the borough's strategy to combat poverty, working collaboratively with service areas and council partners to enhance anti-poverty initiatives. The strategic community coordination role will work with service areas and council partners to strengthen coordination of anti-poverty work across the borough, collaborating with residents and the voluntary and community sector (VCS) to co-produce the borough's approach to tackling poverty.

Administration costs for the scheme, including staff resources and the second year's cost of the Low-Income Family Tracker, will be covered by an estimated £206,357. The 'Low-Income Family Tracker' (LIFT) is a tool that shows data on households with rent or council tax arrears, households whose income falls short of covering basic living costs, and households in food or fuel poverty. The expanded Financial Support Team will use LIFT to provide proactive advice to residents, addressing identified gaps such as unclaimed benefits and income, shifting activity from reactive support to planned, targeted income maximisation and prevention work. The tracker is also mentioned in relation to supporting residents in debt, with the aim of reviewing the Council Tax debt recovery process to help residents access support and maximize income.

The report highlighted that approximately 26% of Haringey residents live in households below the poverty line after housing costs, with child poverty particularly acute at around 39%. The council's commitment to supporting these residents is underscored by this investment, which aims to help individuals access the benefits they are entitled to and navigate the complex benefits system more effectively. Beyond the expansion of the Financial Support Team and the new online portal, the council will fund the strategic community coordination role and is developing an Anti-Poverty Strategy which will inform future updates to the Crisis and Resilience Fund policy and guide future allocations of funding.

The meeting information outlines several outcome measures that will be tracked following the decision, which serve as key performance indicators for the Crisis and Resilience Fund. These include:

  • Crisis Support: Volume of applications (received/awarded/refused), application routes (online/phone/in-person), time to decision, repeat applications, and presenting crisis type.
  • Housing Support: Crisis support linked to rent, arrears, and repeat housing support.
  • Resilience Support: Increased access to advice, reduction in priority debt, and income maximisation.
  • Community Coordination: Referral volumes.

The document also notes that some metrics such as 'Reduced material deprivation', 'Reduced need for food parcels', 'Increased savings', 'Coordination between services', and 'Partner engagement' are yet to be determined (TBC) or are not currently tracked but will be tracked if recommendations are agreed.

The interim policy was approved by Councillor Jo Kuper, Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Resident Services. The full details of the approved policy can be found in the Decisions 10th-Jul-2026 14.30 Cabinet Member Signing document.