Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales

The Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) is a Welsh Government crisis fund that gives money to people in Wales who have no other means of support when an unexpected financial crisis hits¹. It is not a loan and it is not deducted from your benefits: both types of payment it makes are grants that you do not have to pay back². That single feature is what sets it apart from most other emergency help, such as a Universal Credit advance, which is a loan recovered from later payments.

The fund makes two kinds of grant³. An Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP) is cash to cover essential costs such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel when you are in extreme financial hardship⁴. An Individual Assistance Payment (IAP) provides white goods and furniture, such as a fridge, washing machine, bed or sofa, to help you or someone you care for live independently at home or in a property you are moving into⁵. Between April 2025 and March 2026 the fund made 220,000 payments with a combined value of £31,062,000⁵.

The fund exists because Wales has no equivalent of the old Social Fund crisis loans that councils elsewhere replaced in different ways. It is run for the Welsh Government, with applications handled centrally rather than by your local council, though councils and housing associations can help you apply². The rest of this page explains what each payment covers, who qualifies, how much you can get, how to apply, and what to do if you are refused.

What the fund is: crisis grants in Wales that you do not pay back

The Discretionary Assistance Fund is a Welsh Government funded crisis fund designed to provide financial assistance to people experiencing an unexpected financial crisis with no other means of support¹. It was introduced by the Welsh Government to make payments to people in crisis or who need help to live independently, and it has operated since 2013/14⁵. Over that time it has made more than 198,500 awards and paid out over £42 million in grants⁹.

The fund can give money, or it can provide items directly, such as white goods including fridges and washing machines, to help with essential needs and to help vulnerable people live independently¹⁰. This matters in practice: an Individual Assistance Payment often results in an appliance being delivered rather than cash arriving in your account, which is covered later on this page.

Because the payments are grants, they are not loans and they are not recoverable from your benefits. Independent guidance is consistent on this point: grants from the fund do not need to be paid back². This is the fund's defining feature and the reason it is usually worth checking before turning to credit or an advance on benefits, both of which reduce future income. The fund is one part of a wider picture of benefits in the UK, and it sits alongside, rather than instead of, the main benefits system.

Emergency Assistance Payments: food, energy, clothing and travel

The Emergency Assistance Payment is the fund's crisis grant. It is a cash payment to help pay for essential costs, such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel, when you are experiencing extreme financial hardship⁴. The Welsh Government describes it as a grant to help pay for essential costs including food, gas, electricity, heating oil or emergency travel⁴.

The situations it is designed for include:

• being in extreme financial hardship
• having lost your job
• having applied for benefits and waiting for your first payment⁴

If your application is approved, you will get a PayPoint voucher or a BACS payment for food, gas, electricity and emergency travel¹¹. A PayPoint voucher can be used in shops that display the PayPoint sign, which is how the fund gets money to people quickly, including people who do not have a bank account or whose account is overdrawn. A BACS payment goes directly to a bank account.

The scale of this part of the fund is large relative to the other. Between September 2025 and March 2026 there were 122,200 Emergency Assistance Payments with a value of £10,248,000, out of 129,200 payments in total across the whole fund⁵. The average value of an EAP in that period was £84⁵. Emergency Assistance Payments are not large sums: they are designed to bridge a short gap, not to replace income.

Individual Assistance Payments: white goods and furniture to live independently

The Individual Assistance Payment is the fund's grant for household essentials. It helps people live independently in their home, or in a property they are moving into, by providing white goods and furniture⁵. The items you can get include a fridge, a washing machine or other white goods, and furniture such as beds, sofas and chairs¹².

This payment works differently from the Emergency Assistance Payment. Where an EAP arrives as a voucher or BACS payment, an IAP generally results in goods being provided: white goods such as a fridge or washing machine are supplied from AO Retail Limited, with the fund buying and delivering the item¹¹. Independent guidance describes the fund's general approach as a BACS payment or PayPoint voucher for essentials such as food, electricity and gas, or a grant for white goods and other home furniture⁷.

The situations an IAP is meant for are longer term than a crisis. It exists to help you or someone you care for live independently at home¹², which covers resettlement after homelessness, leaving an institution, or setting up home after a relationship breakdown. The average value of an IAP between September 2025 and March 2026 was £1,220, reflecting that it buys appliances and furniture rather than a week's food⁵. People who need adaptations to a home because of disability may instead be entitled to a Disabled Facilities Grant from their local council, which is separate support assessed by the council¹³.

Who can get help from the fund

The fund gives grants to people who need help to live independently in the community, or who have experienced an emergency, a crisis or a disaster⁷. Within that, the Welsh Government lists three situations that commonly qualify: experiencing extreme financial hardship, having lost your job, and having applied for benefits and waiting for your first payment⁴.

Several points are worth knowing about how this works in practice:

• Waiting for Universal Credit. Universal Credit has a five week wait before the first payment¹⁴, and support during that wait in Wales is one of the fund's core purposes. You may also be able to ask the Department for Work and Pensions for an advance payment while you wait¹⁵, but an advance is a loan deducted from later payments, unlike a DAF grant. The choice between them is covered on our page on advances and Budgeting Loans.
• Sanctions and delays. A benefit sanction does not remove your ability to apply. The equivalent rules in Scotland state that applicants subject to a suspension, disallowance or sanction by the DWP can apply in the same way as any other applicant, and that the reason for the sanction should not be considered¹⁶. Sanctions reduce Universal Credit payments when someone fails, without good reason, to attend appointments or training recommended by a work coach¹⁷, and hardship in that situation is exactly what crisis funds exist for.
• Immigration status. Discretionary payments of this kind are listed as public funds in the Immigration Rules, so they cannot be given to a person subject to a no recourse to public funds condition¹⁸. If that condition applies to you, see our page on no recourse to public funds.
• Help with rent. The fund does not cover rent arrears or deposits. If Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element is not enough to cover your rent, a discretionary housing payment from your council is the scheme designed for that gap¹⁹.

It can be helpful to have support from your local authority or another organisation, such as a housing association, to make a claim². That support is free to ask for and does not affect your application.

How much you can get and how it is paid

There is no published fixed maximum for either payment that you can check in advance; the amount depends on your circumstances and what the fund decides you need. What the official figures do show is what payments actually look like. Between September 2025 and March 2026, the average value of an Emergency Assistance Payment was £84 and the average value of an Individual Assistance Payment was £1,220⁵.

The totals give a sense of the fund's size and how it is split:

Payment is by PayPoint voucher or BACS for an Emergency Assistance Payment, and by goods being supplied or a grant for furniture for an Individual Assistance Payment¹¹. The official statistics note that average EAP values are rounded to the nearest pound, average IAPs to the nearest £10, other monetary values to the nearest £1,000, and payment counts to the nearest 100⁵, so the figures above are approximations of the true totals.

The value of Emergency Assistance Payments varies considerably by area. Between September 2025 and March 2026, the total value of EAPs ranged from £1,208,000 in Cardiff to £126,000 in Ceredigion, and the average payment ranged from £107 in Ceredigion to £79 in Newport⁵. The 30 to 39 age group received the highest value of EAPs, £3,853,000 in that period, with the 40 to 49 age group second highest; those aged 16 to 29 received £2,354,000 and those aged 70 and over received £124,000⁵.

Limits: three awards in 12 months and a 7-day gap

The fund has two rules that limit how often you can apply. Up to three successful applications can be made by an individual in a 12 month period⁶, and there must be a gap between application dates, which has been reduced from 28 days to 7 days for all applicants⁶.

The 7-day gap is a recent change. The official statistics record that the 28-day gap between application dates reduced to 7 days for all applicants⁶, which means a refused or successful application no longer locks you out for nearly a month before you can try again.

The three-award limit is a normal limit rather than an absolute bar in comparable schemes. In Scotland, the equivalent Crisis Grant rules state that awards should normally be limited to three per person in any rolling 12 month period, but that local authorities have discretion to allow more than three awards in exceptional circumstances²¹. Scottish guidance also confirms that where a person is part of a couple, each partner can receive three grants in a 12 month rolling period¹⁶. Northern Ireland's Discretionary Support has its own structure, with no more than three loans, one grant for living expenses and one grant for household items in 12 months, except in the case of a disaster⁸.

One consequence of the limit is statistical rather than personal: because up to three successful applications can be made by an individual in a 12 month period, the fund's published figures are a measure of volumes rather than unique users⁶. A count of 220,000 payments does not mean 220,000 different people.

How to apply online or by phone

Applications are made through the Welsh Government rather than through your local council. You can apply online, and applications can also be made on the phone, or by downloading and posting a form, depending on whether your local council allows it³. The current phone number and opening hours are on the Welsh Government's DAF contact page²².

Points worth knowing before you apply:

• Online applications can be made at any time, including weekends and bank holidays, but your application will not be processed until the office reopens on the next working day²².
• Support is available. It can be helpful to have support from your local authority or another organisation such as a housing association to make a claim².
• Have your details ready. The application will ask about your circumstances, income and what you need, since the fund exists for people with no other means of support¹.

If you are waiting for a first Universal Credit payment, you can apply to the fund during the five week wait³, and you can also ask the DWP for an advance payment¹⁵. The two are not exclusive, but an advance is repayable and a DAF grant is not².

How long a decision takes

Speed is one of the fund's strengths. Most councils will tell you the outcome of an application for an Emergency Assistance Payment within 24 hours, and within 10 working days for an Individual Assistance Payment³. The Welsh Government's own guidance confirms that an approved EAP results in a PayPoint voucher or BACS payment, and that an IAP results in goods such as white goods being supplied¹¹.

The 24 hour target reflects the purpose of the payment: an Emergency Assistance Payment exists for people who cannot wait, whether for food or to keep the electricity meter running. The longer 10 working day period for an Individual Assistance Payment reflects that it involves sourcing and delivering appliances or furniture, or arranging a grant for them.

If your application is urgent, say so when you apply and explain why. Because applications are handled centrally, the decision times are the same across Wales rather than varying by council area, though the value of payments does vary by area⁵.

If you are refused: reviews, complaints and the ombudsman

There are two separate routes if things go wrong, and they cover different problems.

If you disagree with the outcome of your application, the route is the decision reviews procedure rather than a complaint. The Welsh Government's guidance states that complaints about the outcome of an application should instead be made via the decision reviews procedure²². This is a different process from the mandatory reconsideration route used for DWP benefits, which is explained on our page on challenging a decision; the DAF has its own review process because it is a discretionary fund rather than a benefit.

If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received, you can make a complaint. The Welsh Government's contact guidance states: "If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received, you can make a complaint"²².

If a complaint to the fund itself does not resolve matters, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales considers complaints about public services in Wales, which is the escalation route for Welsh public bodies rather than the Financial Ombudsman Service, which handles complaints about financial firms. Independent guidance on challenging a DAF decision was reviewed in July 2026, so the review process described is current².

Because the fund is discretionary, there is no right of appeal to an independent tribunal in the way there is for benefits such as Universal Credit. A review asks the fund to look again at the decision; it does not guarantee a different outcome. When a refusal leaves you without essentials, the other sources of help listed at the end of this page are worth checking in parallel rather than after the review.

How many people the fund helps

The fund's statistics are published twice a year, in spring and autumn, typically covering the previous six months⁵. The most recent figures show:

• 220,000 payments with a combined value of £31,062,000 between April 2025 and March 2026⁵
• 129,200 payments worth £18,779,000 between September 2025 and March 2026, of which 122,200 were Emergency Assistance Payments worth £10,248,000⁵
• 90,800 payments worth £12,278,000 between April and August 2025²⁰

Demand has grown sharply. There was a 49% increase in the number of Emergency Assistance Payments in September 2025 to March 2026 compared with September 2024 to March 2025, and the value of EAPs rose by £3.8 million over the same comparison⁵. Since the fund began in 2013/14 it has made over 198,500 awards, with over £42 million paid out in grants⁹.

Two caveats apply to these figures. First, they measure volumes rather than unique users, because up to three successful applications can be made by an individual in a 12 month period⁶. Second, the Welsh Government notes that the figures refer to approved applications rather than applications which have been paid⁵, and that the data is management information rather than an official statistic, because it does not go through formal validation processes⁶. The data is supplied to the Welsh Government by its service provider, NEC Software Solutions UK¹.

Help elsewhere in the UK

The Discretionary Assistance Fund is only for people in Wales. Each nation has its own equivalent:

Scotland's Scottish Welfare Fund is the closest parallel. Its Crisis Grants cover immediate needs and its Community Care Grants help people live independently, and the two can be applied for at the same time where circumstances make it necessary, for example a person who has left home because of violence and needs both immediate support and longer term help to set up home¹⁶. Crisis Grants are normally limited to three per person in any rolling 12 month period across all local authorities, although there can be exceptions²⁴. Our page on the Scottish Welfare Fund covers that scheme in full.

Northern Ireland's Discretionary Support provides loans and grants, with limits of up to three loans for short term living expenses and household items, one grant for independent living in the community, and one grant for living expenses where a loan could not be repaid⁸. In England, there is no single national scheme, but people whose Housing Benefit has been reduced because of the benefit cap may be able to get help from their local authority, and discretionary housing payments exist across the nations for rent shortfalls²³.

Other help to check alongside the fund

A DAF grant is usually one piece of a wider puzzle, and several other forms of help are worth checking at the same time, none of which affects your DAF application.

Help with rent. If Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element does not cover your rent, check whether you can apply for a discretionary housing payment¹⁹. MoneyHelper has guidance on rent arrears and problems paying rent, and it is free¹⁹.

Help with fuel and energy. Alongside an Emergency Assistance Payment for gas or electricity, check the schemes on our pages for the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payments and the Winter Fuel Payment, each of which has its own rules.

Advances and Budgeting Loans. If you are waiting for a first Universal Credit payment, an advance payment from the DWP is repayable but arrives as part of your claim, whereas a DAF grant is not repayable¹⁵. Our comparison of the Budgeting Advance and Budgeting Loan sets out the differences.

Charitable help. Charitable organisations exist that give grants and other support to people in financial difficulty, and National Debtline publishes guidance on help from charitable organisations in England and Wales¹⁰. This can include help that the DAF does not cover.

Debt advice. If the crisis is part of a longer term debt problem, free debt advice is available from National Debtline and other free services, which publish guidance on making the most of your money and on debt repayment options¹⁰. Advice is free and independent of the fund.

Checking your entitlement. Many people in hardship are missing benefits they are already entitled to. A free benefits calculator, described on our page on checking entitlement, shows what you could claim, and extra entitlement can be worth far more over a year than any crisis grant.