Issue - meetings

Housing assistance, disabled adaptions and grants policy

Meeting: 09/07/2020 - Cabinet (Item 8)

8 Housing assistance grants and loans policy pdf icon PDF 99 KB

To consider the head of housing and environment’s report. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the head of housing and environment’s report on the draft housing assistance grants and loans policy. 

 

The Cabinet member for housing reported that the aim of the policy was to:

·         provide a fair and transparent policy for the administration and management of housing related grants and loans

·         provide a clear framework for the delivery of grants and loans

·         ensure the council met its statutory duties and exercises its powers in accordance with relevant legislation and regulations

·         increase the range of grants and loans available to better reflect the needs of residents

·         increase the delivery of grants and loans subject to available funding and

·         accelerate the delivery of grants 

 

The policy included new measures designed to deliver the aims of the policy by:

·         introducing new grants and services to benefit residents, including a grant for persons living with dementia

·         increasing the maximum disabled facilities grant entitlement from £30,000 to £50,000 to help fund more expensive adaptations

·         removing the means test for disabled facilities grant adaptions under £8,000 that would accelerate delivery and reduce waiting times for residents

·         using flexible funding arrangements introduced to improve service delivery, such as the secondment of an occupational therapist to accelerate and increase the delivery of grants and reduce waiting times for residents and

·         in certain circumstances, recovering part of the cost of a disabled facilities grant from owner-occupiers to re-invest the funding in order to maximise the number of grants delivered

 

Cabinet supported the policy as it would provide a transparent framework for increasing the range of available grants and introduce new measures to enhance service delivery.  Most of all, it would improve the lives of people with housing support needs by enabling them to live safely and comfortably in their own homes. 

 

Cabinet noted that officers were working on a communications strategy tailored to those in need of this service.  Cabinet welcomed this and suggested that publicity material was provided to libraries, medical surgeries, health visitors, carers, Citizens Advice, and the many community support groups that had proved valuable during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

Cabinet thanked the officers for their work. 

 

RESOLVED to:

 

(a)      adopt the housing assistance grants and loans policy, as set out in the head of housing and environment’s report to Cabinet on 9 July 2020; and

 

(b)      authorise the head of housing and environment to make minor amendments to the policy. 


 

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