Welcome for Welsh Government’s decision to retain DAF flexibilities

The Bevan Foundation welcomes the Welsh Government’s extension of flexibilities to the Discretionary Assistance fund. 

The Bevan Foundation is delighted that the Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt MS, announced on 15th September  2021 that the Welsh Government will extend for a further 6 months the flexibilities that were introduced to the Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) at the outbreak of the pandemic. The extension follows representations made by the Bevan Foundation in light of the continued pressure on household finances. 

The DAF provides emergency support to low income households in Wales. There are two forms of support provided through the DAF:

• a small cash grant for essential living costs (EAPs),
• and support to allow someone to live independently (IAPs).

At the start of the pandemic, the Welsh Government adapted EAPs so that they could better support people affected by Covid restrictions. The changes were due to come to an end at the end of September and the Bevan Foundation alongside the Child Poverty Action Group had raised concerns that the support provided by DAF had already begun to decrease. 

Given the challenging few months ahead, the Bevan Foundation are pleased that the Welsh Government has decided to extend the adaptions made to DAF until the end of March 2022, ensuring that more low income families in Wales will be provided with support. 

The commitment was made by the Minister during Plaid Cymru’s debate on Universal Credit. A number of members drew on findings set out in the Bevan Foundation’s State of Wales special on Universal Credit during the debate. We were pleased to see our work informing the debate and are grateful to Sian Gwenllian MS for referencing our work when tabling the motion for the debate.