Discretionary Support in Northern Ireland: grant or interest-free loan?

Whether you get a grant or a loan

nidirect’s guidance does not set out a fixed rule for who gets a grant and who gets a loan. It says the outcome depends on your individual circumstances, and those of your immediate family, so two people applying for the same kind of help can be offered different things.

Grants are more limited than loans. nidirect describes one Discretionary Support grant for help to live independently in the community, and one Discretionary Support grant for living expenses, which is only available in narrower circumstances:

nidirect sets out a second route to that same grant: if you and your partner already have combined government debt above a set amount. Loans, by contrast, are the default route for short-term living expenses and household items, subject to the annual limits below.

What Discretionary Support can help with

• short-term living expenses, for example to buy food
• buying, repairing or replacing basic household items, for example a cooker
• travel expenses, in limited circumstances
• rent you have to pay in advance to a landlord other than the Northern Ireland Housing Executive

An award for living expenses is normally worked out for the period from the date you apply to the day before your next income payment is due — for example the day before your next benefit or wage payment. nidirect says a longer period can be awarded if that next payment would not be enough to cover your essential living expenses.

Who can apply, and the income limit

To be eligible, nidirect says you need an extreme or exceptional situation, or a crisis, that puts your health, safety or wellbeing — or that of your immediate family — at significant risk. You must live in Northern Ireland, the crisis must have arisen there, and you must be over 18, or 16 if you have no parental support.

There is also an income limit: your and your partner’s combined annual income after deductions must not be more than £29,741.40, though nidirect notes that some income is not counted and reductions can apply for costs such as housing.

Any savings you or your partner have may also be taken into account when a decision is made.

How often you can get it, and repaying a loan

• up to 3 Discretionary Support loans in a 12-month period, for short-term living expenses and household items
• the amount you are offered takes account of your ability to repay it and any other government debt you owe, including Social Fund loans, previous Discretionary Support loans, short-term benefit advances and Universal Credit advances
• one Discretionary Support grant in a 12-month period to help you or your immediate family live independently in the community
• one Discretionary Support grant in a 12-month period for living expenses, but only if you could not repay a loan, or if you and your partner already have combined government debt above a set amount

nidirect also notes that if you receive Discretionary Support for a specific item such as a washing machine or a mattress, you cannot get another award for that same item within a 24-month period, except in the case of a disaster.

A loan is recovered by the Finance Support Service directly from your Pension Credit or income-related Employment and Support Allowance if you get either of those. If you get Universal Credit, or do not get either of those benefits, you repay by Direct Debit instead, and you need to contact the Finance Support Service straight away if you cancel or change that Direct Debit.

How to apply, and what if you disagree with a decision

You apply to the Finance Support Service. nidirect says you will need your National Insurance number, information about your rent or mortgage, details of your income and savings, and your bank account details.

1. Gather your National Insurance number, income, rent or mortgage, savings and bank account details before you apply.
2. Apply to the Finance Support Service.
3. If you are unhappy with the decision, ask for a review within 28 days.
4. If you still disagree after that review, you can ask the independent Discretionary Support Commissioner to carry out a further review, within 28 days of the review decision.

If you live outside Northern Ireland

Discretionary Support only covers people living in Northern Ireland. Elsewhere in the UK, the equivalent schemes describe themselves as grants you do not repay — GOV.WALES says its two Discretionary Assistance Fund payments are “grants that you do not need to pay back”, and mygov.scot says the same of the Scottish Welfare Fund’s two grants (“You do not need to pay these grants back”). Neither the Crisis and Resilience Fund’s nor the Household Support Fund’s published guidance mentions a loan option for England. Discretionary Support in Northern Ireland is the only one of the four that can be a loan:

• England: the Crisis and Resilience Fund, run by your local council.
• Scotland: the Scottish Welfare Fund, made up of Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants.
• Wales: the Discretionary Assistance Fund, made up of two grants that never need to be repaid.

Related guides

• The Crisis and Resilience Fund: help from your council in England
• Household Support Fund: it has ended — here is what replaced it
• Scottish Welfare Fund: Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants explained
• Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF): emergency grants in Wales
• Council Tax Reduction: how much you could get off your bill