Issue - meetings

That Cabinet approve:

a)       the inclusion of the Armed Forces Covenant into the policy;

b)       the increase in the discretionary Disabled Facilities Grant funding from £20,000 to £30,000 to be funded through the Better Care Fund Allocation;

c)        the increase to the Minor Works Grant funding from £5,000 to £10,000 to be funded through the Better Care Fund Allocation;

d)       a review of the outcome of the amendments to the discretionary grant maximum amounts after 6 months of the policy update approval; and

e)       delegated authority to the Director – Communities & Environment, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder - Housing and the Leader of the Council to increase the discretionary grant by a further £10,000 without requiring a further report to the Cabinet, if considered appropriate, following the review.

The Business Manager - Public Protection presented a report which set out proposed amendments to the adopted standalone policy covering the administration and distribution of mandatory and discretionary Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) and changes to the private sector housing Minor Works Grant (MWG) scheme.  These grants were designed to provide adaptations to the home to allow people to continue to live in the community and were means tested.

The report sought approval for a number of amendments to both the DFG and MWG schemes which reflected feedback from service users and partner organisations over recent years, a recognition that building and labour costs had increased significantly since the last revisions made in 2021, plus the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and assisting ex-service personnel and their families.

AGREED      (unanimously) that Cabinet approve:

a)            the inclusion of the Armed Forces Covenant into the policy;

b)            the increase in the discretionary Disabled Facilities Grant funding from £20,000 to £30,000 to be funded through the Better Care Fund Allocation;

c)             the increase to the Minor Works Grant funding from £5,000 to £10,000 to be funded through the Better Care Fund Allocation;

d)            a review of the outcome of the amendments to the discretionary grant maximum amounts after 6 months of the policy update approval; and

e)            delegated authority to the Director – Communities & Environment, following consultation with the Portfolio Holder - Housing and the Leader of the Council to increase the discretionary grant by a further £10,000 without requiring a further report to the Cabinet, if considered appropriate, following the review.

Reasons for Decision:

To ensure that the Council can continue to deliver necessary adaptations to enable residents to live independently at home for longer.

Options Considered:

Do nothing – this would not allow inclusion of the Armed Forces Covenant in line with other Council policies, limit the number of disabled facilities grants that can be approved due to maximum limits reached and prevent additional minor works to be completed.

Consider differing funding limits – The proposed amended grant maximum have been based on the current costs of adaptations that are being managed by the team. There will always be a few cases that will exceed any limit but these levels represent the majority of cases.