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<p>This Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently
and safely at home.</p><p>In order to comply with the Social Housing Regulator's Home
Standard, housing associations need to ensure they have a prudent, planned approach
to repairs and maintenance of homes, including adaptations. Registered providers must
co-operate with relevant organisations to provide an adaptations service that meets
tenants’ needs.</p><p>Housing associations are independent bodies and it is up to
their boards to oversee business and operational matters including funding of repairs
and adaptations. The board needs to ensure that their organisation is open and accountable
on how it meets its objectives and must meet the standards set by the social housing
regulator.</p><p>The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a Government funded grant
that is available to eligible tenants in housing association properties. The grant
can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting an older or disabled person’s
property. The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 states that local
authorities should approve or decline an application for a DFG as soon as reasonably
practicable (and not later than with six months of being made). It is expected that
local authorities should complete the works in a timely manner.</p><p>Since <a target="_blank">2012-13</a>,
the Government has invested over £1.6 billion into the DFG, providing around 250,000
adaptations by the end of the <a target="_blank">2017-18</a> financial year. In the
2015 Spending Review, the DFG received year-on-year increases and will more than double
from £220 million in <a target="_blank">2015-16</a> to over £500 million by 2020.</p><p>Liverpool
was given £6,437,470 from the original DFG budget of £431 million for <a target="_blank">2017-18</a>.
It will also be allocated a share of funding from the additional £42 million for the
grant announced in Budget 2017, which will take the total amount to over £7 million.
This additional funding is going to be paid out in January 2018.</p>
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