Fears Over Funding For Home Adaptations

CONCERNS have been raised about the amount of funding councils will set aside for housing adaptations in future.

Several mobility aids providers, including Dolphin Lifts Western, have expressed fears despite a recent increase in the Disabilities Facilities Grant (DFG) given to local authorities.

The worry is that the removal of ring-fencing from the grant – a requirement to spent portions of it in certain ways – and the exclusion of any obligation to match fund it will lead councils to actually cut their overall budgets for housing adaptations.

This is exacerbated by the coalition government’s decision to completely cut the Private Sector Housing Renewal Fund – a previously accessible fund for home adaptations, improvements and maintenance – and the fact that an additional £116 million to be allocated for council housing works will not be made available until 2012/13.

An overall 6.6 per cent rise in council’s DFG funding from £167.3 million to £178.3 million supports the government’s pledge to shift its focus from institutional to domiciliary care, however, it is widely recognised that funding levels only cater for 10 per cent of home adaptation needs.

Having come at a time when councils themselves are being forced to cut spending by up to 9 per cent, evidence suggests this will impact on the number and type of adaptations currently and soon to be carried out.