CABINET REPORT
DATE: 1ST DECEMBER 2015
REVIEW OF THE LOW COST ADAPTATION GRANT (LCAG) PROCESSES
Report Submitted by:
Report Written by:
Sue Evans, Chief Officer Social Care & Housing
Mel Firminger, DPS manager
1.
Area Affected
1.1
County borough wide.
2.
Purpose of Report
2.1
To update Cabinet of progress, developments and issues with the non-means tested
grant for disabled adaptation works since the implementation of what was previously
called the 'Non-means tested' Adaptation Grant Policy’ on 1st April 2015 and is now
known as the ‘Low Cost Adaptations Grant Policy’. To seek Cabinet’s approval to
adopt a formal escalation and exceptions procedure for Low Cost Adaptation Grants
which exceed the maximum grant of £5,000.
3.
Background
3.1
A duty to arrange for an assessment of needs of disabled people for adaptations and
to facilitate any works in their home can be traced back to the Chronically Sick and
Disabled Persons Act 1970.
3.2
Disabled adaptations are currently classified into minor and major categories of
work. In June 2002 the Welsh Assembly began funding the Rapid Response
Adaptations Programme (RRAP Scheme) for minor works to facilitate timely hospital
discharges. Similarly, the Care & Safety At Home Scheme was introduced to prevent
hospital admissions. Locally this is administered by Care and Repair Torfaen in
partnership with the Council and local health service. Minor adaptations up to the
value of £350 are delivered to home owners and tenants of private landlords and
typically include installation of rails, small ramps, security lighting etc. Social Care
Services currently contributes £50,000 to support this scheme and an additional
£19,000 management fee top up.
3.3
Registered social landlords including Bron Afon Community Housing are responsible
for installing minor adaptations for their tenants.
3.4
The foundation for the current system of providing funding for major adaptations in
the homes of disabled people was created in the Local Government and Housing
Act, 1989. This introduced a new mandatory grant called Disabled Facilities Grant
(DFG).
3.5
Registered social landlords (excluding Bron Afon Community Housing) needing to
provide adaptations of a similar nature for their disabled tenants are eligible to apply
directly to Wales Government for a Physical Adaptations Grant on a case by case
basis.
3.6
All of the above means for providing home adaptations for disabled people are
subject to the recommendation of an Occupational Therapist in line with the
Council’s threshold of eligibility criteria.
3.7
The Disabled Facilities Grant now funds all major schemes from £5000 up to a
maximum value of £36,000 for home owners and tenants of private landlords living
in the Borough. This remains the sole mandatory assistance available to disabled
people and carries a requirement to apply a Test of Resources to all eligible
applicants with the exception of grants for children’s adaptations.
3.8
Following publication of the Review of Housing Adaptations Including Disabled
Facilities Grants – Wales (2005), revisions to the DFG in Wales were introduced in
Annex D of the National Assembly for Wales Circular 20/02 in 2007. The DFG
Review Report included a recommendation that lower cost adaptations should be
streamlined and made less bureaucratic by channelling adaptations through a fasttrack system rather than through the traditional DFG route.
3.9
For the period 1st April to 19th November 2015, 61 LCAG schemes were completed
compared to 23 DFG’s during the same period. Below is a breakdown of the
type/average cost LCAG schemes undertaken:
3.10
No.
Type
Average cost
38
Level access showers
£4,297.80
20
Stairlifts
£2,113.31
1
Ramp
£2,451.31
2
Other
£3,344.11
94.9% LCAG schemes were successfully completed within the set financial
parameters ie. £1,000 to £4,999. However, 3 schemes (4.91%) exceeded both their
original tendered sums and the maximum grant allowance (excluding agency fees)
as follows
GRANT LIMITS £)
FINALISED GRANT (£)
% VARIATION
ABOVE £5,000
5,000.00
5,853.44
17.1%
5,000.00
5,290.00
5.8%
5,000.00
7,642.45
52.85%
3.11
The average time taken to deliver the LCAG is currently 127 days compared to 177
days for the DFG.
3.12
The former Grant Liaison Officer post has now been deleted from the establishment
list. Responsibility for completing a newly styled and simplified grant application
form now rests with the grant applicant themselves. However, help is available for
those with sight impairment or who may experience difficulty with completing the
form. The form has been designed to meet the requirements of both LCAG and
DFG grant applications and work is in progress to further develop the format into an
on-line version which will be available on the TCBC website.
3.13
We currently gather evidence of proof of property title for all grant applications via
access to the HM Land Registry portal where possible, or by requesting applicants to
present their documentation in person if no such registration has been lodged.
4.
Issues and Findings
4.1
The transition from a fully assisted grant application process to a self completed form
has not been without issues. Common themes have emerged including:
 Lack of signatures on the form
 Incomplete financial details for to undertake means test for DFG’s
 Proof of ownership missing
Recurrent issues with completing the form correctly are being addressed by
improving its layout and where necessary adding further commentary to clarify the
information required. It must be acknowledged that delays with receiving a fully
completed and accurate application form will impact on our PI’s.
4.2
In calculating the award for each adaptation grant, competitive tenders are sought
from the Council’s list of approved contractors via the Proactis E-Tender web based
system. The winning bid then determines the type of grant on which to proceed and
whether a mean test needs to be applied. Variations to the original sum tendered
can arise for a number of valid reasons including:
 unforeseen works
 the occupational therapist adding further adaptations to their original
recommendation where for example the disabled person’s health has
deteriorated rapidly.
 an error with the original schedule of works specified on the tender.
In the event the above, the original tendered sum may then exceed or fall below the
threshold for the Low Cost Adaptations grant, creating inconsistencies in its
application and the potential for legal challenge in cases where a means test has
been applied unnecessarily.
4.3
Since its implementation, there have been numerous requests from grant applicants
wanting to avoid undertaking a means test by offering to meet the cost of any works
over £5,000. Although we have refrained from agreeing to these requests, this
presents a dilemma for the surveyors and potentially creates a two tier system and
inconsistent approach with delivering grant works.
4.4
Grant work is allocated to the Council’s list of approved contractors a rotating ‘lot
system’ with contractors having been initially assigned to one of three general
building ‘lots’ or a single ‘lift’ lot dependent on their line of business. Whilst this
satisfies the recommendation of the Wales Audit Office audit undertaken in 2009 to
ensure probity with contractor selection, the system risks awarding ‘like for like’
works differently.
For example, contractors grouped in Lot 1 may submit higher bids than those in Lot
2 or Lot 3 for an identical adaptation which may result in one applicant receiving a
Low Cost Adaptation whilst another is subject to a Disabled Facilities Grant means
test if the bid exceeds £5,000
4.5
The present system of determining which grant to apply based on the £5,000
financial threshold may deter some applicants where multiple adaptations are
recommended. For example applicant ‘A’ has been assessed as needing a stairlift,
level access shower and ramp which exceed the threshold and owing to their
financial situation they may receive no help towards the cost of the works. Applicant
‘B’ however is recommended to have a stairlift which falls below the threshold
regardless of whether they have means to pay towards the works. This illustrates
the potential inequity in the current arrangements.
4.6
In September 2013, Council gave its approval to implement breach conditions on
Disabled Facilities Grants, and for first time the means to seek reimbursement of any
grant monies over £5,000. Since the introduction of the Low Cost Adaptation Grant,
the policy has not taken into consideration our position with regard to sums in excess
of £5,000 and therefore breach conditions have not been applied. This also brings
into question the need to determine equitable terms and conditions for both grants.
5.0
Implications
5.1
Policy – The decision to implement a non means tested grant has previously
received Cabinet approval although the introduction of a formal escalation and
exceptions procedure will require Cabinet approval.
5.2
Legal – There are no legal implications with these proposals.
5.3
Financial – It is anticipated there will be no further financial impact as a result of this
recommendation.
5.4
Communication – Current public information will not require updating.
5.5
Personnel – There are no staffing implications with this proposal.
5.6
Social Inclusion and Equalities – There are no implications for social inclusion and
equalities with this proposal
5.7
Partners and service users – There is no anticipated change with this
recommendation.
5.8
Business community – there are no implications for the business community
arising from this report.
5.9
Sustainability – there is no anticipated impact as a result of these proposals.
6.
Monitoring and evaluation
The current monitoring and evaluation procedures in place will be improved with the
introduction of formal reporting on grants which have exceeded the maximum limit.
7.
Conclusion/summary
Social Care and Housing legislation places a duty on local authorities to meet the
assessed needs of its vulnerable residents including adaptations to the home of a
disabled person. Annex D of the National Assembly for Wales Circular 20/02 (2007)
removed the mandatory status for all housing grants with the exception of the
Disabled Facilities Grant. Powers were simultaneously introduced to waive the Test
of Resources for lower cost major adaptation works.
Following the recent review of the Low Cost Adaptations Grant since its
implementation in April 2015 a number of issues and concerns have been identified.
Cabinet agrees to delegate authority to the Chief Officer Social Care & Housing in
respect of introducing a formal escalation and exceptions procedure for dealing with
grants which exceed the maximum limit of £5,000.
8.
Recommendation
That cabinet delegate authority to the Chief Officer Social Care & Housing to
introduce a formal escalation and exceptions procedure for Low Cost Adaptation
Grant works which exceed the maximum £5,000 limit. Requests for sign off for such
works will be accompanied by a full report detailing the reasons for the increased
expenditure and will require the authorisation of the Chief Officer Social Care &
Housing or their Deputy and that the Non-means tested' Adaptation Grant Policy now
known as the Low Cost Adaptations Grant Policy is amended as set out above.
The Chief Officer Social Care & Housing is given delegated authority to amend the
policy as may be needed in future.
Background Note: Members of the public are entitled, under the Local Government Act 1972,
Papers
to inspect background papers to reports. The following is a list of the
background papers used in the production of this report.
Report approved by Cabinet 20 January 2015 - ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW “NON-MEANS
TESTED” ADAPTATION GRANT POLICY
http://moderngov.torfaen.gov.uk/documents/s3904/Disabled%20Adaptations%20Grants%20%20removal%20of%20means%20test%20-%20DPS%20Leadership%204sae.pdf?LLL=0
For a copy of the background papers or for further information about this report,
please telephone: Mel Firminger – [email protected]