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Almost one in three children in the UK live in poverty. At the same time, around £24.1bn in benefits and social tariffs is expected to go unclaimed in 2025-26.This raises a practical question for local areas: how do we make sure families can access the support they are already entitled to? In my view, part of the answer lies in taking advice to where families already are.The Healthier Wealthier Families' work in east London is exploring what happens when welfare and financial advice is embedded into trusted health and family services. Instead of leaving parents to navigate a complex system alone, families can be connected to expert advice through routine contact with services they already know.Building on the Newham pilot, my colleagues and I at University College London are working with Tower Hamlets LBC, the local NHS services and voluntary sector partners on a larger study. It is testing the impact of providing welfare benefits advice to parents of newborn babies – with a particular focus on the effects on parents' mental health and family finances.A pilot study in Newham showed the potential of this approach. Between April 2023 and June 2024, 60 families received welfare benefits advice and gained a total of £476,023 in additional income, an average of £7,933 per family.Following the pilot, Newham LBC's public health service funded a permanent debt and welfare benefit adviser. The service covers four health centres where on-site expert welfare benefit and financial advice is offered through a simple referral process.There are some clear lessons for local areas. The first is that trust matters. Families may not always feel comfortable asking for help with money, particularly where there is stigma, anxiety or uncertainty about entitlement. Health centres, children's centres and Family Hubs can offer a more familiar and less intimidating route into support.Second, referral routes need to be simple. If professionals working with families can identify financial worry and connect parents directly to advice, fewer people fall through the gaps.Third, services need to be flexible. Language barriers, digital exclusion and concerns about privacy can all prevent families from accessing help. Embedding advice in local settings does not remove every barrier, but it gives services more chances to identify need and offer support earlier.This is not a substitute for wider action on poverty, it is a practical, preventative step that local systems can take now.Building on the Newham pilot, my colleagues and I at University College London are working with Tower Hamlets LBC, the local NHS services and voluntary sector partners on a larger study. It is testing the impact of providing welfare benefits advice to parents of newborn babies – with a particular focus on the effects on parents' mental health and family finances.At a time when many councils are thinking about Family Hubs, early help and prevention, this model deserves attention.Families should not have to navigate complex systems alone. Local areas can make a real difference by putting advice where families already are.Claire Cameron is the UK's first professor of social pedagogy, based at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Social Research Institute, University College LondonIf you are interested in developing an integrated health and welfare benefits advice service in your area, contact Claire Cameron: c.cameron@ucl.ac.uk

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WELFARE

Practical steps to prevent poverty

By Claire Cameron | 28 May 2026

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