Housing: Disabled

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that sufficient funding is available through the disability facilities grant to ensure recommendations made following visits by occupational therapists to those who face access issues are implemented.

Yvette Cooper
Under the disabled facilities grant (DFG) programme it is for the local housing authority to assess the need of a disabled person for housing adaptations in the light of the mandatory entitlements to assistance set out in section 23 of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. The housing authority must also judge whether any work to a dwelling is reasonable or practicable having regard to its age and condition.

The grant is also means tested and subject to a maximum limit of £25,000.

The housing authority will normally take expert advice from an occupational therapist in order to assess the need of the disabled person but the grant award under DFG must take account of all of the provisions of the DFG legislation as described.

The Department provides ring-fenced funding to local authorities to support the expenditure incurred by them in delivering the DFG programme. In 2007-08 £126 million was made available from this Department for authorities in England. Local authorities are required to find the remainder of funding from their own resources to fulfil their statutory obligations.