Local authorities across England will receive over £50 million to help older people and those with disabilities to live safely and more independently in their homes, with over £250,000 being awarded to Barnet.
This is the first part of a £102 million investment to be made over two years, enabling local authorities to provide additional services that are agile, make minor adaptations quickly, and allow speedier hospital discharge, supporting over 50,000 people annually.
Eligible people can apply for funding from the Disabled Facilities Grant to adapt their home to better meet their needs. The grants are available to homeowners, private renters and people in social housing, and funding comes additionally to the annual £573 million already provided to local authorities for home-improvement services. Since 2010, there have been almost half a million home adaptions, backed by £4.8 billion in funding.
Providing suitable adaptations to homes, such as wheelchair ramps, handrails, stairlifts or specialist equipment, will mean that when someone is medically fit to be discharged, they will have somewhere safe to be discharged to, freeing up hospital beds for those who need them.
This is another important step in delivering on one of our key priorities for 2023: to cut NHS waiting lists so people can get the care they need more quickly.
