It has been announced that local authorities in England will have a £505,000,000 budget to fund house adaptations for disabled residents in 2019/20.
This funding through Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) is at a 10-year high and enables local authorities to help fund crucial adaptations to residents’ homes. The means-tested grants can help provide accessibility adaptations such as widening doors, improving access to rooms and facilities, or installing stair lifts, ceiling track hoists and wheelchair ramps. These grants help towards the costs of adapting a person’s home to allow them to continue living there.
Adaptations to homes can be costly so it’s great to see there is an extra level of funding for local authorities to provide these essential adaptations to those in need. This initiative also aims to help reduce hospital admissions, speed up discharges from hospital, cut domiciliary care costs, and delay the need to move into residential care.
These grants have been provided to local authorities from the Government under the Better Care Fund. More than 40,000 people a year receive a Disabled Facilities Grant to adapt their home and make it safe and accessible, and this figure grows every year.
It’s great to see an increase in this funding as it can help towards costs for vital adaptations for disabled residents’ homes that will benefit disabled people and improve accessibility in their own home.
Find out more and apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant here.