Discretionary assistance fund: October to December 2023
For the period October to December 2023, discretionary assistance fund statistics, analysed by age and local authority.
This file may not be fully accessible.
In this page
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.
Additional data on the DAF, including 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
- Between October and December 2023 there were 58,702 payments with a total value of £8,134,692
- 55,009 of these payments were EAPs with a value of £4,449,032
- 3,693 of these payments were IAPs with a value of £3,685,660
The average (mean) value of an EAP was £81 and the average value of an IAP was £998.
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 to October to December 2023. The value of both EAPs and IAPs was between 3.5 and 4.5 million pounds for each quarter. 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.
Source: NEC Software Solutions UK data October to December 2023 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government)
Local authority
Figure 2: Value of EAPs and IAPs in each local authority between October and December 2023
Description of Figure 2: This bar chart shows the total value of EAPs and IAPs paid in each local authority between October and December 2023. The total value of EAPs paid varied between £550,167 in Cardiff to £45,749 in Ceredigion. For IAPs the total value of payments varied from £481,245 in Cardiff to £37,383 in Ceredigion. Note that these results have not been adjusted for the difference in population between local authorities.
Source: NEC Software Solutions UK data October to December 2023 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government)
The average value of a payment varied from £87 in Pembrokeshire to £78 in Monmouthshire for EAPs and from £1,146 in Flintshire to £779 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 October and December 2023
Description of Figure 3: This bar chart shows the value of EAPs and IAPs awarded by age group between October and December 2023. 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.
Those aged 30 to 39 received £1,770,361 from EAPs and £1,105,900 IAPs from IAPs. Those in the 16 to 29 age group received £1,136,925 and £962,257 and EAPs and IAPs respectively and those aged 70 and over received £34,319 from EAPs and £80,011 from IAPs. Note that these results have not been adjusted for the difference in population between age groups.
Source: NEC data October to December 2023 (collected on behalf of Welsh Government)
For EAPs the value of the average payment varied between £90 for those aged 30 to 39 and £65 for those aged 70 and over. For IAPs value of the average payment varied between £1,090 for those aged 16 to 29 and £755 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.