Rushcliffe Brough Council says demand for Disabled Facilities Grant is outweighing funding

A council says demand for its disabled grants is outweighing the funding it can access, meaning it could struggle to afford to keep up with home adaptations for residents.

Rushcliffe Borough Council says its grants from the government’s Disabled Facilities Grant are considerably lower than neighbouring councils.

The grants are available to people of all ages and who live in all housing types to contribute to the costs of adaptations, enabling people to live independently and safely at home.

The main recipients are people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities, autism, mental health, and cognitive impairments.

Rushcliffe papers prepared ahead of a cabinet meeting on July 12 state that in 2021-22, Rushcliffe received £757,000 while Mansfield received £1,426,000.

Broxtowe Borough Council, which got the second smallest amount of funding, received £984,000.

The papers state that the allocation is decided by a Government formula.

The Rushcliffe papers state that urgent progress needed to be made by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUC) to review the Better Care Fund and national DFG formula to achieve a more equitable distribution of resources based on updated health and social care needs.

The funding is sent by the Government to Nottinghamshire County Council, which distributes the funding to the district and borough councils.

Now, the authority is also “calling upon partner authorities in the County to explore transformational change to support a more equitable distribution” of the funding.

Rushcliffe’s budget for 2022-23 is £853,000, which includes funding from underspends in previous years.

The council anticipates spending £579,000 on major works and salaries, leaving £275,000 for non major works.

Council officers have proposed using £500,000 from the Support for Registered Housing Providers budget ­— but they added that this is not a sustainable financial solution.

It has also suggested implementing a waiting list to prioritise applications for the funds.

Council papers stated: “Pre-pandemic, the borough coped with Disabled Facilities Grant demands within its budget. However, the last year (2021-22) has seen exceptional cost and demand pressures in the Borough, and commitments and projections for 2022-23 show no easing of demand and the associated financial pressures.”

The papers added that there is now a sustained increase in construction costs, including materials and labour.

There are also more Occupational Therapy referrals and a higher number of ‘major works’ which need completing.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities did not respond to a request for comment.