Issue - meetings

To receive a report of the Strategic Director for Adult Care, Housing and Public Health recommending the adoption of a new Aids and Adaptations Assistance Policy. The proposed Policy sets out how the Council intends to exercise its powers under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) Order 2002 by consolidating the traditional assistance for aids and adaptations with a range of new discretionary grants.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.             Approve the adoption of the new Aids and Adaptations Assistance Policy (Appendix 1) and note the new scheme of delegation for authorising grants.

2.             Approve the proposed increase in Disabled Facilities Grant fees from 10% to 15% in order to pay for additional administrative and technical services costs associated with the new Policy and note that the Council is permitted to include necessary and reasonable fees associated with Disabled Facilities Grant applications within the overall cost of the eligible works.

3.             Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care Housing and Public Health who can subdelegate to the Assistant Director of Housing in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing to prioritise or withdraw discretionary assistance in accordance with the Aids and Adaptations Assistance Policy and in line with the available budget.

4.             Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Adult Care Housing and Public Health to make minor amendments to the Policy when the need is identified.

The Chair invited the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health to introduce the report. It was anticipated that the proposals would have a positive impact on the health and social care system. It provided a platform to access support and make significant changes, perhaps at speed, to enable people to have a higher quality of life.

It was outlined that aids and adaptations ranged from low-cost solutions such as grab rails to more complex and costly adaptations such as installation of level-access showers or in some instances, extensions. The Chair welcomed the Assistant Director of Housing and the Operational Manager - Housing Options to the meeting.

The current Aids and Adaptation Policy was adopted in April 2015. In July 2023, the Cabinet agreed to review the policy and put in place some temporary delegations to facilitate continued delivery of the service. The review took place between July and October 2023. In addition to considering the latest best practice, the review also compared access from residents living in different housing tenure, the most common types of adaptations needed and associated costs and budgets. Views and feedback from stakeholders, partners and service users were gathered.

Following the review’s conclusion, it was recommended that a new Aids and Adaptations Assistance Policy (attached as Appendix 1) be adopted, alongside revised financial delegations. The proposed policy set out how the Council intended to exercise its powers under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) Order 2002 by consolidating the traditional assistance for aids and adaptations with a range of new discretionary grants.

Legislation required all local authorities to have a published document in place setting out the Council’s policy on the local grant assistance related to aids and adaptations. The proposed policy therefore set out the types of assistance available to qualifying homeowners, Council tenants, private tenants and housing association tenants. The proposed policy supported disabled residents, older people, children and their families, with adaptations that supported independence whilst also enabling carers to continue to support residents safely. The policy included details of how to apply, eligibility and related conditions apply to the assistance available.

It was noted that funding for aids and adaptations was complex. For residents who are not council tenants, Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) were funded by the Government as part of the Better Care Fund. For council tenants, aids and adaptations were funded from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

The Council’s Housing and Social Care Services and the National Health Service (NHS) had responsibility for the delivery of integrated services and recognised the benefits of enabling people to stay in their homes wherever possible. The development of preventative services could help to avoid more costly interventions at a later stage. The review highlighted that the current policy did not fully reflect the principles of an integrated approach and could benefit from strong alignment with the better care priorities. The new policy included updated principles and objectives that reflected a collaborative, multi-agency approach to assess people especially in relation to high-cost  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80