Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responds to a report by the Centre for Ageing Better on housing adaptations.
“Councils are working hard to provide housing adaptations and mobility aids which are vital to help keep people safe and independent in their homes and prevent avoidable admissions to hospital and care homes.
“To help address requests for home adaptations the Disabled Facilities Grant needs to be fully funded to keep pace with demand. Government also needs to plug the £3.5 billion funding gap facing adult social care by 2025 and reverse the £600 million in reductions to councils’ public health grants between 2015/16 and 2019/20.
“There is a shortage of homes suitable for older and disabled people and people in vulnerable circumstances. To help address this councils need to be given greater planning powers and resources to hold developers to account, ensuring that they build the right homes in the right places needed by different groups within the local community.
“Government needs to work with councils and housing associations to provide a sustainable funding framework through which to offer the certainty and clarity to invest in the future development of housing for people with a range of needs.
“The housing borrowing cap should be also lifted so all councils can be allowed to borrow to build as this will help address the growing number of people, including those with disabilities, living longer with increasingly complex needs.”