The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the health boards. It provides for the payment of a basic weekly allowance to eligible people who have little or no income. An assessment of a person's means and needs is carried out. Where there is a shortfall in a person's income a payment may be made to bring it up to the appropriate supplementary welfare allowance rate.
Where a person's application for unemployment assistance is disallowed and an appeal is lodged it is open to the person concerned to apply for supplementary welfare allowance. There is no automatic entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance. There is also no automatic exclusion of people on the grounds that they were refused unemployment assistance or any other payment. The decision to pay supplementary welfare allowance is a matter for the health board and would normally have regard to all relevant factors involved in individual cases.
Where an appeal is upheld and a person is awarded unemployment assistance any arrears due would be reduced by the amount of supplementary welfare allowance paid in respect of the arrears period.
