City Hall's £4.7m extends free benefits advice at Lewisham family hubs, with weekly drop-ins in Deptford and Downham. Checked November 2026.
Free, independent advice on benefits and housing for low-income families in Lewisham is set to run for two more years, after the Mayor of London announced £4.7m on Wednesday 4 November to extend the scheme behind it. Lewisham is one of the 12 boroughs where the Family Financial Resilience Partnership already works through Best Start Family Hubs and Children’s Centres.
City Hall says the money takes the partnership to 19 boroughs over the next two years. The other seven have not been named yet. The release does not say how much of the £4.7m comes to Lewisham, or how many of the extra families it expects to reach here.
Where to get the advice in Lewisham
The borough’s family hubs site lists two free weekly drop-ins for parents and carers, run by Citizens Advice Lewisham:
- Tuesdays, 9am to 2pm: Best Start Family Hub Deptford, Alverton Street, SE8 5NH
- Thursdays, 9am to 3pm: Best Start Family Hub Downham, Shroffold Road, BR1 5PD
That notice carries no date, so it is worth ringing before you travel: the council lists 020 8692 3653 for Deptford and 020 8695 5915 for Downham.
Two parents quoted on the hubs site describe what the service did for them. “Citizens Advice Lewisham’s support has been invaluable, guiding us through complex housing and benefits processes we couldn’t manage alone,” said Muhammed, from New Cross. “They spoke up for my family, helping us access support and resolve issues we didn’t even know we were entitled to.”
Yasmin, a parent supported at the Deptford hub, said: “Thanks to Citizen’s Advice Lewisham, I received my Household Support Fund, and it has made a real difference, especially with my gas bills over Christmas which was really needed.”
The same notice says Lewisham is set to receive a share of £2.2m under the 12-borough programme, and puts child poverty in the borough at 36%, against a London average of 35%.
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 so far. The extension could help around 29,000 more families reach £18m, according to the same release. The release gives no borough breakdown for the partnership.
Advisers cover benefits, housing, childcare, immigration, disability and employment. It runs with the 12 councils, London Citizens Advice and the London Legal Support Trust.
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.”
What Lewisham has already claimed
A second pot of nearly £750,000 continues the Mayor’s work with boroughs and the data firm Policy in Practice, which helps councils identify households missing out. 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 Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, disability benefits and Universal Credit.
City Hall’s table for those campaigns does break the figures down by borough. For Lewisham it shows:
- Pension Credit: 1,343 households contacted, £1,831,426 a year
- Attendance Allowance: 965 households contacted, £305,245 a year
- Healthy Start: 1,580 households identified, £14,413 claimed
Added together, that is about £2.15m. Policy in Practice says its figures are accurate as of December 2025. Lewisham’s Pension Credit total is the ninth highest of the 26 boroughs with a figure, ahead of Greenwich at £1,365,887, Southwark at £1,064,313 and Bexley at £33,996, and behind Lambeth at £2,960,352. Bromley is not in the table.
Across London, City Hall counts £108m reaching 170,000 households since April 2022, across four programmes: £52m to 55,000 households from the benefit take-up campaigns, £43m to 98,000 from the Advising Londoners Partnership, £7m to 11,000 from advice in community settings such as food banks and faith centres, and £6m to 6,000 from the family hubs scheme.
Policy in Practice estimates that Londoners miss out on around £4bn in benefits each year, and its Missing Out 2025 report puts the figure for Great Britain at £24.1bn in 2025/26. City Hall’s own 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, or are expecting, the Deptford and Downham drop-ins are the direct route. You can also ask at any of the borough’s seven family hubs: the council says their doors are open to everyone and staff will direct you to the right support. The central number is 020 8314 9545.
If you do not have children, Citizens Advice Lewisham’s freephone line is 0800 231 5453. The council’s benefits pages and City Hall’s Cost of Living Hub both set out what you can check for yourself.
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, and a free TV licence at 75 or over.
The announcement follows the latest jobless figures: Lewisham’s claimant count rose by 340 to 14,665 in September. The Budget’s £100 energy payment follows from January for homes in bands A to D.
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