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An Urgent Needs Payment (UNP) is a once-off payment made to persons, including those who may not normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance, but who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources or an alternative is not available at that time.
Examples of this would be to meet immediate needs, such as food, clothing or shelter in the aftermath of a fire, flood or other emergency event.
Urgent Needs Payments are administered by the Community Welfare Service of the department.
Anyone may qualify for a payment to meet an urgent need. However, there is no automatic entitlement to such payments.
UNPs are payable at the discretion of the CWS officer taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
Consideration will be given to whether you have access to commercial credit at the time of the urgent need, for example, a credit card, or insurance cover.
The amount you get will depend on the type of assistance that you need.
Depending on your circumstances, for example, if you are working, you may have to pay some or all of this payment back at a later date.
You should contact the Community Welfare Service at your local office
An application form is available to download here or from your local office
Claim Form for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
DownloadTo help process your claim, you should have the following:
Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.
Do not include any personal details in the box below. The information you submit will be analysed to improve the site and will not be responded to individually.
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