Financial support available for those affected by Storm Christoph

Residents can now apply for financial support if they have been affected by Storm Christoph.

The Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) from the Welsh Government, is a fund of last resort designed to support basic needs in a crisis or emergency situation. The Fund can support applications from households affected by storm damage or flooding.

It is a small grant to cover essential costs such as food, essential clothing and fuel costs. It is designed to provide a few days immediate assistance for essential costs. This is awarded as an EAP grant – Emergency Assistance Payment or an IAP grant – Individual Assistance Payment.

Examples of where the Fund can support after a severe storm:

Emergency Assistance Payment

• A household has suffered lengthy power outages which have resulted in loss of food (defrosted/turned food).
• A household has suffered storm damage to their home – the repair costs they have paid out, means they now have no money to meet their basic needs for food, gas or electricity.

Individual Assistance Payment

• A household has suffered storm damage to key essential items, (and is not able to source any additional funding to obtain a new item). The DAF could award new essential items such as cooker, fridge, bed, washing machine*.
  (*This Fund would require receipt of an income based benefit for any applications for replacement items due to storm or flood damage).

Please note:

• The Fund does not award costs for any repair costs.
• The flood scheme for Storm Ciara, Dennis and Jorge (Feb 2020) closed Aug 2020. Assistance from the Fund is via the standard EAP support only.
• If someone has exhausted the help available from the Fund, they will not be able to make further claims for being affected by storm damage or flooding.

The grant decision time is usually less than 24 hours and awarded as a PayPoint voucher that can be redeemed easily at many local retailers, or as a BACS payment (bank transfer). The processing time of a BACS payment can vary depending on the indvidual bank but please allow 3 working days.

There is no requirement to be in receipt of any benefit for the emergency assistance payment, however, you will need to demonstrate that you have exhausted all other appropriate funding avenues available to you.

You will need to be in receipt of an income based benefit for the individual assistance payment.

How to apply

Apply online on the Welsh Government website, or call them on 0800 859 5924 (between 9.30am to 4.00pm Monday to Friday).

APPLY ONLINE