COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT News Release (230) issued by The Government News Network
on 4 December 2007
Thousands of older
and disabled people will benefit from extra Government funding for
home adaptations, such as ramps, stair lifts and easy-access
showers. Communities Minister Baroness Andrews today announced
the increases in the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) as part of a
package of measures designed at helping people live independently
in their own homes for longer.
The DFG will increase by £25 million for 2008/09, a significant
increase of 20 per cent, taking central Government funding up to
£146 million. Central government funding for DFG has already
doubled since 1997 from £57 million to £121 million this year.
Around 35,000 older and disabled people already receive DFG
support every year. Adaptations funded include improved access to
homes, such as widened doors, and basic facilities within a home,
like a track and hoist.
The Government also announced plans to strengthen Home
Improvement Agencies (HIAs), the locally based not-for-profit
organisations that help homeowners and tenants renting private
housing repair and maintain their homes.
The new programmes Communities and Local Government announced to
support HIAs are:
* A new three-year contract for a national co-ordinating body for
HIAs. The body will support the delivery of the forthcoming
national strategy for housing in an ageing society, provide
ongoing support to HIAs and give a voice for the sector in Government.
* A Future HIA project, to be taken forward by Foundations Home
Improvement Agency, to help ensure that HIAs are fit for the
future and to see whether they can deliver wider services, such as
housing options advice, gardening services, support for people
discharged from hospital. Foundations will report to Government
next year.
Communities Minister Baroness Andrews said:
"Most people are happy with their current homes and want to
remain where they live for as long as possible, but the decisions
people make on staying put or moving are increasingly motivated by
their health and well-being.
"This package of funding and initiatives will help people
make the right choices for them and not feel pressured into moving
into sheltered housing or residential care.
"We want to ensure that older people have the best possible
advice on their housing options and to help them live
independently for as long as possible. Living longer should mean
living well, not more years spent in accommodation unsuitable for
those with a chronic illness or disability."
HIAs advise people on improvements and adaptations which they may
need to their homes and assist them in applying for local
authority grants or loans to carry out the required work. They
also help to identify reputable local contractors, helping
vulnerable people to avoid 'cowboy' builders. They then
oversee the work to ensure that their clients are completely satisfied.
In 2004/05, HIAs in England dealt with 103,000 enquiries where
substantial advice was given, and in 38,700 cases, this led to
work being carried out by the HIA.
Notes to Editors
1. The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a mandatory entitlement
administered by local housing authorities, to help fund the
provision of adaptations to enable disabled people to live as
comfortably and independently as possible in their homes.
2. Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) are small, locally based
not-for-profit organisations, although some are part of larger
housing and support service organisations or local authorities.
HIAs receive most of their revenue funding from local government
through Supporting People (SP) and general housing funds. Under
SP, funding decisions are made by local authorities rather than by
central government. This has encouraged HIAs to be more diverse,
working to local rather than national agendas. The proportion of
the population over 75 years old covered by HIAs has risen from
61% in 1999 to 92% in 2006.
3. Communities and Local Government sponsors a national
co-ordinating body for HIAs (called Foundations) to support the
work of HIAs, including promoting and raising the profile of HIAs,
increasingly with local service commissioners and local area
agreements; representing the movement in dealing with government
and other stakeholders, and building HIA capacity.
Public Enquiries: 020 7944 4400;
News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk