The December DAF release (covering the period up to the end of September) will be the final release in the current format. From 2024, data on DAF will be published quarterly and figures will be presented at a monthly rather than weekly level. The quarterly releases will include an HTML report in addition to the StatsWales tables and provide breakdowns by age and local authority.
DAF data is supplied to the Welsh Government by our service provider NEC Software Solutions UK. The data does not go through any formal validation processes and therefore is not published as a National Statistic
General description
The Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) offers two types of grant. Individual Assistance Payments (IAPs) help people live independently in their home or a property that they are moving into. Emergency Assistance Payments (EAPs) help pay for essential costs, such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, EAPs could be claimed for reasons relating to COVID-19 such as experiencing delays in Universal Credit payments or other DWP claims as a result of the pandemic and to cover the £20 reduction in Universal Credit payments that occurred in October 2021. As there are now factors other than the pandemic motivating these payments, the categorisation of EAPs into “COVID-19” and “Normal” payments from previous releases has been dropped for these tables. From 1 April 2023, COVID-19 is no longer available to be selected as a reason for applying for an EAP.
From 1 April 2023 all applicants will be eligible for 3 payments in a 12-month rolling period. (This will include all EAP awards previously received within the past 12 months). Since 2020, people impacted by the pandemic or the loss of the £20 Universal Credit uplift have been able to receive 5 payments. These 3 payments will be at a higher value with an 11% inflationary increase given to all EAP awards. The 28-day gap between application dates will reduce to 7 days for all applicants. These changes are to allow for short and successive use of the fund in a time of crisis or emergency.
Data collection and calculation
DAF data is supplied to the Welsh Government by our service provider NEC Software Solutions UK.