Agenda item

Agenda item

Disabled Facilities Grant

Report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Services

 

This report presents the Health Scrutiny Committee with the approvals being sought by Executive for the reintroduction of means testing for adults seeking adaptations through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and to revert to a DFG limit, capping funding for individual cases at £30,000, in line with Government guidance.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Adult Social Services that described how the delivery of home adaptations to Manchester residents, to help them live independently and safely in their own homes, needed to change due to a combination of challenges.

 

Key points and themes in the report included:

 

  • Providing an introduction and background;
  • Describing the rationale behind the proposal for the reintroduction of means testing for adults seeking adaptations through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and to revert to a DFG limit, capping funding for individual cases at £30,000, in line with Government guidance;
  • Noting that a new delivery model had been agreed by the Major Contracts Board in October 2023 to bring all major adaptations work previously undertaken by lead Registered Providers (RPs) back in-house;
  • This model would be fully in place in September 2024 and provided a stable foundation for the operation of the adaptations service across Manchester;
  • Describing that increased demand in Manchester of recent years, meant that the DFG budget for 2024/25 was committed already;
  • There was insufficient allocated budget to meet the non-discretionary elements of activity, so it was critical that we adapted our overall approach;
  • To attempt to ensure that the limited DFG budget could be used to benefit those most in need, certain changes were proposed to deliver more equitable provision;
  • The changes would bring Manchester City Council back into line with comparator authorities across England and align activity to the national guidance; and 
  • A full breakdown of the populations served by the service had been undertaken and an Equality Impact Assessment undertaken.

 

The Committee was invited to comment on the report before its submission to the Executive on 11 September 2024.

 

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

 

  • Welcoming the clarity of the report, noting that the rationale for the proposals had been clearly articulated;
  • Recognising that the proposed approach represented an intelligent use of a limited resource;
  • Recognising that the adaptations service provided an important service and had a significant impact on residents;
  • Noting that adaptations could greatly assist individuals in maintaining their ability to access the labour market; and
  • Welcoming and supporting the decision to bring the adaptations service back in-house.

 

The Assistant Director of Adult Social Services informed the Committee that the Equality Impact Assessment would be used to monitor and review the impact of the decision following implementation. She commented that applications were monitored and reviewed from application to completion stage and that where appropriate an individual could be reassessed if their needs changed during this period. She noted that it was acknowledged that the time to deliver adaptations could be lengthy, however this continued to be monitored and having the service brought back in-house should assist with this in the longer term.

 

Noting the comment regarding the importance of work, the Executive Director of Adult Social Services stated that consideration of this would form part of an individual’s assessment. She further added that assessment officers also worked with individuals to maximise their income and ensure that they were in receipt of all the benefits they were eligible for.

 

The Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care expressed his gratitude to all officers for their work in bringing forward these proposals to manage a specific and dedicated pot of funding. He said that the proposals were equitable and drew the Member’s attention to the section of the report that described the small number of cases where the cost was over £30,000, and that a caveat had been included to the recommendation that allowed for some discretion when considering exceptional circumstances. He further gave an assurance that he would continue to lobby for additional funding from the Government.

 

Decision

 

The Committee endorsed the recommendation that the Executive,

 

(1)  Approve the reintroduction of means testing for adults seeking adaptations through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG).

 

(2)  Revert to a DFG limit capping funding for individual cases at £30,000, in line with Government guidance, with discretionary payments beyond this to be considered by the Executive Director of Adult Social Services, only in exceptional circumstances, and in consultation with the Director of Children's Services where appropriate.

Supporting documents: