Discretionary assistance fund: January to March 2024
For the period January to March 2024, discretionary assistance fund statistics, analysed by age and local authority.
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What is the discretionary assistance fund?
The Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) is a program run by Welsh government which provides payments to people in an emergency or who need help to live independently. Payments are split into two types depending on which category they fall into.
- Emergency Assistance Payments (EAPs) help pay for essential costs, such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel.
- Individual Assistance Payments (IAPs) help people live independently in their home or a property that they are moving into.
The most up-to-date data on the DAF, as well as additional monthly breakdowns, can be found on StatsWales. To help users interpret the data more information on data quality can be found in the DAF quality report.
Main findings
- For the 2023/24 financial year there were 244,675 DAF payments with a combined value of £33,561,931
- Between January and March 2024 there were 72,510 payments with a total value of £8,711,585
- 69,102 of these payments were EAPs with a value of £5,542,152
- 3,408 of these payments were IAPs with a value of £3,169,433
- The average (mean) value of an EAP was £80 and the average value of an IAP was £930.
Figure 1: Value of EAPs and IAPs in each quarter from April 2023
Description of figure 1: This bar chart shows the value of EAPs and IAPs, by quarter, from April to June 2023 to January to March 2024.The value of both EAPs and IAPs was between 3.5 and 4.5 million pounds for the first three quarters of the financial year. In the final quarter (January to March 2024) the values diverged with EAPs increasing to 5.5 million pounds and IAPs decreasing to 3.2 million pounds.
Source: NEC Software Solutions UK data January to March 2024 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government).
The differences in the total values of EAPS and IAPs in the latest quarter are driven by a change in the number of payments. For EAPs there was 26% increase in the number of payments in January to March 2024 compared with October to December 2023. For IAPs there was an 8% decrease over the same period. The number of payments for each quarter (and month) is available on StatsWales.
Comparisons with DAF data prior to April 2023 should be treated with caution due to changes in DAF application criteria and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Further details can be found in the DAF quality report.
Local authority
Figure 2: Value of EAPs and IAPs in each local authority between January to March 2024
Description of figure 2: This bar chart shows the total value of EAPs and IAPs paid in each local authority between January and March 2024. The total value of EAPs paid varied between £700,044 in Cardiff to £46,170 in Ceredigion. For IAPs the total value of payments varied from £515,430 in Cardiff to £44,297 in Ceredigion. Note that these results have not been adjusted for the difference in population between local authorities.
Source: NEC Software Solutions UK data January to March 2024 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government)
The average value of a payment varied from £84 in Carmarthenshire and Wrexham to £76 in Monmouthshire for EAPs and from £1,098 in Merthyr Tydfil to £681 in Ceredigion for IAPs.
The number and value of payments, per month, for each local authority can be found on StatsWales.
Age of recipient
Figure 3: Value of EAPs and IAPs by age group between January to March 2024
Description of figure 3: This bar chart shows the value of EAPs and IAPs awarded by age group between January and March 2024. The 30 to 39 year old age group received the highest value of both EAPs and IAPs, with the 16 to 29 year age group the second highest. For older age groups the money received from both EAPs and IAPs decreased with age.
Source: NEC data January to March 2024 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government).
Those aged 30 to 39 received £2,224,905 from EAPs and £939,331 from IAPs. Those in the 16 to 29 age group received £1,475,865 and £886,720 from EAPs and IAPs respectively and those aged 70 and over received £38,376 from EAPs and £57,892 from IAPs. Note that these results have not been adjusted for the difference in population between age groups.
For EAPs the value of the average payment varied between £88 for those aged 30 to 39 and £65 for those aged 60 to 69. For IAPs value of the average payment varied between £1,020 for those aged 16 to 29 and £643 for those aged 70 and over.
The number and value of payments, per quarter, for each age group can be found on StatsWales.
Quality and methodology information
All figures are rounded to the nearest pound. The data presented in this report has not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics and the data may be revised in future. Further information on what to keep in mind when interpreting these statistics can be found in the DAF quality report.