National housing charity Care & Repair England has welcomed the news that the Dept of Health is providing an extra £40m for home adaptations grants as wonderful news for disabled people who are struggling to live independently at home.
The announcement was made today by Dept of Health Minister, Norman Lamb MP.
"We warmly welcome the acknowledgement that suitable housing can underpin independent living and determine the need for social care," said Sue Adams, Chief Executive of Care & Repair England and chair of the National Home Adaptations Consortium. "This announcement shows that the Department of Health really understands the connection and is willing to support practical integration across housing, health and care."
Local housing authorities are paid an annual capital grant by the Dept for Communities and Local Government to help them with the cost of providing means tested 'disabled facilities grants'. In 2012-13 this amounted to £180m, so an extra £40m is a significant increase.
The vast majority of older and disabled people live in ordinary housing and adaptations can make or break their efforts to live independently and with dignity.
In a number of reports Care & Repair England and others have quantified the extent to which poor and inappropriate housing contributes significantly to health and social care costs and has shown how low cost adaptations can make a major difference to people's lives.
"There is a tremendous opportunity to integrate home adaptations into social care and health provision", said Adams. "This could save money through prevention of problems such as falls and fractures, as well as reducing care costs and reduce the risk of injury to carers. The new money gives local councils the resources to pioneer new fast track systems and innovative delivery."
Further reading about Disabled Facilities Grants and the work of Care & Repairhere