North East Area Grants Newsletter 2011

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
2011

GRANTSISSUE
2011
North East Grants Office
North East Grants Office covers eight Council
Areas of Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney,
Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Larne, Moyle and
Newtownabbey.
Where to find us
NORTH EAST GRANTS OFFICE
Office contact
information
North East Grants Office
Twickenham House
59-71 Mount Street
Ballymena
BT43 6BP
Tel:
03448 920 900
Fax:
028 2566 7938
Email:
northeastgrants@nihe.
gov.uk
Office Duty Rota Technical Officers
Mon. Wed. and Fri. Jim Parke
Mon. Tues. and Thur. Roy Lucas
Tues. Thur. and Fri. David Cuthbert
Tues. and Thur. John Burns
Mon. Wed. and Fri. John Carey
Roisin McTeague
Kirsty Madden
Opening Hours
Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri
9.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m.
Wed 9.00am-12.30pm
Staff at North East Grants Office Back Row left to right: Richard Frew,
Ron Mitchell, Christine McCann, John Burns, Jim Parke, Andrew Smith,
Orla McMullan, David Cuthbert, Ivan McNeill, John Carey, Joanne Bann.
Front Row left to right: Hazel Johnston, Christine Thompson, Margaret
Nesbitt, and Sharon Anderson. (Not Included Roy Lucas)
Cover photograph: Viaduct Randalstown
This publication is available in other formats. Please contact your local
grants office.
2

GRANTSISSUE
2011
Ron Mitchell, Grants Manager
with Management Team.
Welcome to the
latest edition of the
Home Improvement
Grants Issue for
Antrim, Ballymena,
Ballymoney,
Carrickfergus,
Coleraine, Larne,
Moyle and
Newtownabbey
Council areas.
I am very pleased to welcome you
to the latest and the first edition as
the new North East Grants office
following the amalgamation of the
Ballyclare / Ballymena offices earlier
this year.
In this edition we aim to provide
information on the assistance
which is available through the
Home Improvement Grants
Scheme, our office performance
and other related topics which I
hope will be of interest to you.
Please take some time to read
through this Issue and let us
have your views on its contents
and presentation. These can be
reflected upon as we produce
future editions.
Information on types of Grants is
available from our office. You can
also access information on grants
and other Housing Executive
activities and services on our
website at www.nihe.gov.uk
General enquiries about
your grant application may
be made to the office by
telephone although if you
wish to speak personally
to a member of staff you
should preferably arrange
an appointment. Home
visits are available to applicants
who cannot travel to our office.
Please let us know if you need
information in other formats,
we offer a range of services such
as large print leaflets, language
translation and signing services and
our reception area is equipped with
a hearing induction loop system.
The recent economic down turn
has had a enormous impact on all
the Housing Executive’s Budgets
and future programmes, this has
resulted in a reduction in the
budget available to the Private
Sector Improvement Grants
Service, discretionary grants for
Renovation, Replacement and
Home Repair Assistance are
only considered in exceptional
circumstances where the work
required would present an
imminent, serious and significant
risk to the occupants.
Our priority is now Mandatory
Grants and our budget for
Disabled Facilities Grants and
Repair Grants remains unaffected
by the reduced funding.
We are also administering
a pilot Boiler Replacement
Scheme recently introduced
by the Department of Social
Development. This scheme is
targeted at eligible householders
who are aged 60 years or over
in receipt of Rates Relief or Lone
North East Grants Office
Pensioner Allowance where their
existing boiler is over 15 years old
and inefficient.
The management of this grant
office takes money and staff.
At present the North East Grants
office employs 18 staff with a
staffing budget of £495k. The
outturn at the end of the last
financial year for Ballymena and
Ballyclare was £590k (£47k under
budget).
This has proved to be a very
challenging year for the Grants
staff, with the continued pressure
on our reduced budget. The
completion of the Modernising
Services Programme is improving
our overall grants service, the new
technology and electronic system
in conjunction with Case Officer
led processes are now used to
process application more effectively
and efficiently than before which
can only be good news for you
our customer. The implementation
of the Outlet Review on the
Grants service that resulted in the
amalgamation of Grant Offices
and in our case the Ballyclare/
Ballymena offices as a single unit
located in Ballymena now called
the North East Grants office from
April 2011.
While last year was also very
challenging for the staff, I was
very satisfied with the overall
performances of both offices,
and we approved a total of 310
schemes to the value of £2.572m
and completed 452 schemes to the
value of £3.458m
In December 2010 our department
Private Sector Improvement
Services was successful in obtaining
the Customer Service Excellence
Accreditation for excellence in
Customer Service.
Ron Mitchell, Grants Manager
028 2566 6400
3

GRANTSISSUE
2011
North East Grants Office
Am I eligible for a Disabled Facilities Grant?
If you, or someone who
lives with you, require
adaptations to your home,
you may qualify for a
Disabled Facilities Grant
of up to £25,000. It may
be possible to ‘Top up’ the
amount of Grant payable if
the approved cost exceeds
£25,000. The works must
be recommended by an
Occupational Therapist.
Some of the works, if
recommended, may include;
• improving access to your
bathroom, living room or
bedroom
• providing additional bathroom
or bedroom facilities
• making the preparation and
cooking of food easier, for
example by enlarging the
kitchen or providing low level
units
• adapting lighting or heating
controls
• improving your heating system.
The amount of grant we pay
depends on the Housing Executive’s
approved cost of the work and your
financial circumstances. If you are
on a low income you may get grant
aid up to a maximum of £25,000.
We will calculate if you have to
make a contribution. However, if
the adaptations are for a child there
is no means test assessment carried
out. Contact your local grants office
for further details and a guide to
how much grant you might get.
How do I apply?
Contact your local Health & Social
Services Trust who will start the
process by assessing the disabled
occupant’s needs. You will need
to have an Occupational Therapist
recommendation before you apply
for a grant.
What happens when I
submit an Occupational
Therapy recommendation?
1. We will contact you to get
your details
When the Grants Office has
received the Occupational
Therapists recommendation, a
Case Officer will contact you
to obtain your details and give
you information on how the
grant is processed. They can
also carry out a preliminary
assessment of the amount
you may have to contribute
towards the cost of the work.
2. We will carry out an
inspection of your property
You will be given a suitable
appointment and a Grants
Technical Officer will call with
you to inspect your property.
The Grants Office will then
send you out a detailed list of
the works to be grant aided
known as a Schedule of Works.
3. We will ask you to supply us
with documentation
At this stage we will ask
you to provide us with the
documentation we require
to process your application
and also initiate the Test of
Resources (Means Test) if
appropriate. You may wish to
get assistance from one of the
Home Improvement Agencies
(Gable) to help you with your
application.
4. We will approve your
application to start work
When the documentation has
been received we will give you
details of how much you will
have to contribute, (if any),
towards the cost of the work
and how much grant aid you
have been awarded.
5. You carry out the work and
we make payment
You can then appoint a builder
to carry out the work. When
the work has been completed
to a standard acceptable to the
Occupational Therapist and the
Housing Executive, and you
have submitted the necessary
invoices and certificates, you
will receive your payment.
Where can I get more
information?
If you require assistance or any
further information, please
contact one of our Grants Offices
on 03448 920900.
Grants budget
2011-12
The grants budget for
2011-12 has been confirmed
at just over £21m. As with
other departments within
the Housing Executive, the
current economic climate
has seen a reduction in the
levels of funding available,
and it is unlikely that this
situation will change over
the next few years.
The impact of this reduced
funding is that we continue to
curtail certain aspects of the
Grants Scheme. While we carry
on processing applications for
Disabled Facilities and Repair
Grants, we will only consider
Renovation, Replacement
and Home Repairs grants in
exceptional circumstances.
The type of work which will
be considered in exceptional
circumstances is that which
represents an imminent and
significant risk to the health and
safety of the occupant.
The Housing Executive will
continue to bid for additional
money for all aspects of our work,
and in particular will consider how
we can direct grant aid towards
elderly and vulnerable people by
introducing measures to tackle
energy efficiency which will assist
in alleviating fuel poverty.
We will of course keep you up
to date on any changes in the
current position.
4

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Make your home warmer and more
energy efficient
Last winter was one of
the coldest on record with
many people being caught
out with the severity of
the weather. Now is the
time to consider whether
you could be eligible
for one of the schemes
funded by the Department
for Social Development
and administered by
the Housing Executive,
designed to alleviate fuel
poverty and make homes
warmer and more energy
efficient.
2011
Warm Homes Scheme
The Warm Homes Scheme consists
of two types of assistance.
Warm Homes offers a range
of insulation measures including
Cavity Wall Insulation, Loft
Insulation, Hot Water Cylinder
Jackets, Benefit Entitlement Checks
and Energy Advice.
Warm Homes
Eligibility Criteria
Income
Support
Income
Related ESA
Housing
Benefit
Working Tax
Credit
DLA
Income Based
JSA
Pension Credit
Child Tax
Credit
Attendance
Allowance
Warm Homes Plus, in addition
to the insulation measures listed
above under Warm Homes, also
entitles eligible householders
to the installation of a fully
controlled energy efficient heating
system, where currently no such
system exists. Conversion of an
existing bottled gas (LPG), solid
fuel or economy 7 heating system
to oil or natural gas, where this is
available, is also possible under
Warm Homes Plus.
Warm Homes Plus
Eligibility Criteria
Income Support
Income Related
ESA
Housing Benefit
Income Based
JSA
Pension Credit
Working Tax
Credit
To qualify for the Warm Homes
Scheme you must own your
own home or rent from a private
landlord and be in receipt of a
specified qualifying benefit. To
find out if you might qualify for
the Warm Homes Scheme or
to find out further information
please call 0800 988 0559 or
visit www.warm-homes.com
Warm Homes Scheme;
Tel: 0800 988 0559
(calls from a land line are free)
Boiler Replacement
Scheme
The Minister for Social
Development announced
the launch of a pilot Boiler
Replacement Scheme in June
which is open to home owners
and those who rent privately.
The scheme is being administered
through the Housing Executive’s
Grant offices.
Boiler Replacement Scheme
You must be:
aged 60 or over
in receipt of Rates
Relief but NOT
in receipt of
Housing Benefit
or in receipt of
Lone Pensioner
Allowance but
NOT Housing
Benefit
Your Boiler
must:
be 15 years
or older
and be
inefficient
The Scheme is aimed at those
who may not be eligible for other
energy efficiency schemes, and will
be reviewed following analysis of
initial uptake. You are eligible for
the Boiler Replacement Scheme if
you are aged 60 or over and you
are in receipt of Rates Relief or
Lone Pensioner Allowance but not
Housing Benefit.
It is important to note that if
you are in receipt of Housing
Benefit, you are NOT eligible to
apply to the Boiler Replacement
Scheme.
If you are unsure of your
entitlement to Rates Relief or Lone
Pensioner Allowance, you should
contact Land and Property Services
on Freephone 0800 5877 477.
Your boiler must be 15 years or
over and working inefficiently. Your
installer will be able to measure the
efficiency of your boiler for you.
You could be eligible for up to
£1500 towards the cost of the
necessary works which can include
conversion from an oil fired boiler
to a gas or wood pellet boiler.
Your new boiler must be Sedbuk
‘A’ rated for efficiency.
Please contact the Grants Office on
03448 920 900 for further details
or to make an application.
5

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Ballyclare: how we performed
Performance against Standards April 2010 - March 2011
Complaints April 2010 –
March 2011
2011
We take all complaints
received very seriously and
try to resolve them initially
at the Grants Office level.
However, a number of our
customers take advantage
of the formal complaints
process.
Last year, we had 1 case referred
to second or final stage for
investigation by the Chief
Executive.
Approval Outputs April 2010 - March 2011
100
80
60
40
20
26 Renovation
£279k
94 Disabled Facilities
£799k
Last year we approved a total
of 153 grant applications to the
value of £1,124k.
1 Replacement
£32k
14 Home Repairs
Assistance £29k
18 Repairs
£14k
Customer Satisfaction
We are constantly seeking
customers’ views of our
service in order to improve.
We conduct on a regular
basis a survey of grant
applicants and the results
of the latest survey are:
Satisfaction with
overall grants process
Satisfaction with
telephone service
Satisfaction
with written
correspondence
90%
97%
93%
0
Grants Payments (£k) April 2010 - March 2011
Renovation
Disabled
Facilities
Replacement
Repairs
Home Repairs
Assistance
£28K
£40K
£41K
£30K
£50K
£65K
£190K
£223K
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Pounds (k)
In 2010/2011 we were successful in spending a total of
£1,543k for all grant types.
Performance against Service Standards
April 2010 - March 2011
£1,234K
£1,175K
Target
Actual
Issuing Schedules of Works
(within 12 weeks of inspection)
90
94
Issuing Approvals
(within 6 months of receipt of
all supporting documentation)
87
100
Making Payments
(within 6 weeks of work
deemed to have been
completed)
90
92
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent
6

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Ballymena: how we performed
Performance against Standards April 2010 - March 2011
Complaints April 2010 –
March 2011
We take all complaints
received very seriously and try
to resolve them initially at the
Grants Office level. However,
a number of our customers
take advantage of the formal
complaints process.
Last year, we had no cases
investigated at first stage or second
or final stage cases were investigated
by the Chief Executive.
Customer Satisfaction
We are constantly seeking
customers’ views of our
service in order to improve.
We conduct on a regular
basis a survey of grant
applicants and the results of
the latest survey are:
Satisfaction with overall
grants process
Satisfaction with
telephone service
Satisfaction with written
correspondence
93%
88%
90%
Narrative on Performance
The performances in both offices was
excellent in a very challenging year
for the staff in both offices, having
to deal with problems associated
with the amalgamation of the offices
and reduced staffing levels, the
continued pressure on the budget and
the completion of the Modernising
Services Programme.
From April 2010 to March 2011 we
received 661 enquiry forms for grant
assistance, carried out 531 inspections
and issued 470 schedules of work.
We approved 310 grant applications
to the value of £2.572m and
completed 452 schemes to the
value of £3.458m (against a target
of £3.409) Our approvals for the
Mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant
fell short of our target.
With our response times we have
achieved or exceeded the targets in all
areas except our Approvals. With our
full compliment of staff these targets
should be met in the incoming year.
2011
Approval Outputs April 2010 - March 2011
100
80
60
40
20
22 Renovation
£280k
103 Disabled Facilities
£1,076k
0 Replacement
0
Grants Payments (£k) April 2010 - March 2011
Renovation
Disabled
Facilities
Replacement
Repairs
Home Repairs
Assistance
£8K
£20K
£13K
£8K
£68K
£60K
Issuing Schedules of Works
(within 12 weeks of inspection)
Issuing Approvals
(within 6 months of receipt of
all supporting documentation)
Making Payments
(within 6 weeks of work
deemed to have been
completed)
£346K
£325K
Last year we approved a total
of 157 grant applications to the
value of £1,363k.
£0k
23 Home Repairs
Assistance £56k
9 Repairs
0 300 600 900 1200 1500
Pounds (k)
In 2010/2011 we were successful in spending a total of
£1,913k for all grant types.
Performance against Service Standards
April 2010 - March 2011
£7k
£1,478K
£1,423K
Target
Actual
86
90
90
98
100
96
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percent
7

GRANTSISSUE
Customer Care Charter
2011
This Charter sets out the
standards you can expect
from staff in North East
Grants Office. If you feel we
have failed to meet any of
these standards, please tell
us.
We aim to provide, the customer,
with the highest possible level of
service and professionalism. We
are continually looking at ways
that we can improve our service
and we welcome our customers’
views on how we can achieve this.
Staff will:
• be prompt, polite, helpful, fair
and sensitive
• advise you of who is dealing
with your case
• be trained to give advice and
assistance within policy
• wear name badges to
identify ourselves and show
identification when we visit
your home
• make appointments for all
preliminary inspections
• on request, provide a map
showing our office location.
In Reception we will:
• advise you of our opening
hours
• attend to you within 5 minutes
• monitor our achievement
against the above standard
• provide a private interview
room on request
• have information leaflets
available
• provide a summary Business
Plan on request
• provide an interpretation
service if your first language is
not English
• provide a comments card for
your comments, suggestions
and compliments
• act on suggestions and provide
more choice
• monitor our achievement
against the above standard.
On the telephone we will:
• answer calls or take a message
in office hours
• answer your call within 8
seconds
• (monitor our achievement
against the above target time)
• tell you our name
• deal with your enquiry or
return your call within one
working day.
For letters, fax, emails
which we receive we will:
• reply within 5 – 10 working
days if necessary by letter, fax,
phone, email or visit
• acknowledge within 3 working
days – if a reply will take longer
than 10 working days
• sign our replies stating our
name and position
• write in plain English
• check emails received twice
daily
• monitor our achievement
against the above standards.
For people with disability
or aged 60+ we can:
• arrange a sign language
communicator
• provide a portable loop hearing
system
• provide leaflets and forms in a
choice of format
• visit you in your home.
For people whose first
language is not English we
can:
• arrange a telephone
interpretation service
• provide leaflets and forms in a
choice of format.
For Property Inspections/
Home Visits we will:
• respond to Preliminary Enquiry
receipt in 5 working days
• arrange property inspection
within 4 weeks
• issue Schedule of grant aided
work in 12 weeks
North East Grants Office
• issue formal approval within
6 months on receipt of
completed documentation
• do interim/final inspections in 2
weeks and pay in 4 weeks.
While these figures represent
the maximum time it will take,
we will endeavour to process
each stage of your application
in as short a time as possible.
If you have a complaint we
will:
• try to resolve them at the
Grants Office
• on request, give our ‘How to
Make a Complaint’ leaflet
• reply to your complaint within
15 days
• monitor our achievement
against standards
• put matters right and apologise
if we made a mistake
• learn from it and improve our
services as a result.
Customer
Satisfaction
We are constantly seeking
customers’ views of our
service in order to improve.
We conduct on a regular
basis a survey of grant
applicants and the results
of the latest survey for
Ballyclare/ Ballymena taken
as an average are:
Satisfaction with overall
grants process
Satisfaction with
telephone service
Satisfaction with
written correspondence
Satisfaction with
inspection stage
91.5%
92.5%
91.5%
91.5%
8

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Complaints/Compliments/Feedback
We take all complaints
received very seriously and
try to resolve them initially
at the Grants Office level.
However, a number of our
customers take advantage
of the formal complaints
process.
Last year, we investigated:
Stage 1
No complaints received.
Stage 2
1 case was investigated by the
Chief Executive, who confirmed
that the application was dealt
with correctly and in accordance
with the Executive’s policy and
procedures, there is pending legal
action between the Applicant and
Builder.
Commissioner
We had no complaints dealt
with by the Commissioner for
Complaints.
If any complaints were upheld we
would put in place the necessary
procedures to ensure there is no
reoccurrence.
We received 11 enquiries from
Public Representatives on behalf
of applicants. All enquires were
dealt with in 15 working days.
We received 7 thank you cards/
letters
How to make a complaint
We aim to provide a good quality
of service but sometimes despite
our best efforts things do go
wrong, if you have a complaint
about our service we will:
• Carry out a full and fair
investigation
• Give you a full explanation
2011
• If a mistake has been made we
will put matters right and issue
an apology
You should first raise any problem
with staff in the Grants Office
who will try and resolve the
situation.
If you are dissatisfied you may
raise the matter formally with the
Grants Manager who will aim to
reply to your Complaint within 15
working days.
Following this if you are still
dissatisfied you can write to:
The Chief Executive,
The Housing Centre,
2 Adelaide Street,
Belfast, BT2 8PB
Please contact us if you wish
to have a “How to make a
Complaint” booklet sent to you.
Customer Choice
Where possible we will
offer you choice in how
we provide our service.
Currently we offer the
following choices:
• Day, morning or afternoon
appointments for home visits
and inspections
• Help to complete your
application using Fold Housing
Association’s Staying Put
service
• Choice of Warranted
Contractors
• Grant Payments can be
Assigned to your Contractor
• Stage Payments
• Method of Contact eg: Phone,
e mail, fax, letter, in person
Focus Group
We have a focus group
which meets once a
year and consists of our
partners eg: Fold Housing
Association, Occupational
Therapists, Warranted
Builders, Architects and
Applicants.
It is always useful to get the
feedback from our group on the
positives and negatives involved
in the grants process and any
improvements within our working
practice are always introduced (joint
visits with Occupational Therapists
when requested, joint visit with the
Warranted Builders Scheme in cases
where dispute has arisen).
DFG Standards of
Service
• On receipt of an Occupational
Therapist’s recommendation
our Case Officer will aim to
contact you within 2 days
• We aim to carry out an
inspection of your property
within 4 weeks
• Following inspection of your
property we aim to issue your
Schedule of Works within 12
weeks
• Following submission of all
your documentation we aim to
issue your Approval within 6
months
• We aim to inspect your
property following completion
of works within 2 weeks
• We aim to make payment
following inspection and receipt
of payment documentation
within 4 weeks.
9

GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Corporate Social Responsibility
• Coffee Mornings – staff
nominate charity
2011
recycling of cardboard, plastic,
stamps and toner cartridges
• Work experience availability to
other schools
• Our staff are committed to
waste management activities,
• Mid Antrim Animal Sanctuary
– make donations of second
hand goods for them to sell
also send donations of food for
the animals.
Your Safety and Security At Home
Home security is the best
way to reduce your chances
of being burgled. A lot of
burglaries are spur of the
moment, as a burglar may
see an open window or
other easy point of entry
and take their chance.
Basic Tips
• When you go out, always
lock the door and close the
windows-even if you are going
out for a short time.
• Window locks, especially
on older windows will help
stop people getting in (And
remember, a burglar is less
likely to break in if they have to
smash a window).
• If you have deadlocks, use
them. They make it harder for
a thief to get out again. But
don’t leave the key near the
door or in an obvious place.
• Don’t leave spare keys outside
or in a garage or shed, and put
car keys or garage keys out of
sight in the house.
• Use timers for lights and radios
if you need to be away from
home overnight. They will
create the impression someone
is in.
• Visible burglar alarms, good
lighting, and carefully directed
security lighting can put
burglars off. But make sure
that lights don’t disturb your
neighbours, and that alarms
turn off after 20 minutes.
• Fitting a ‘spy hole’ allows you
to see who is at the door.
Having a door chain means
that you can open the door a
little way to talk to them
‘Make sure that any
improvements you make don’t
stop you from getting out of
your house as quickly as
possible if there is a fire’.
Bogus callers
• Most people who come to your
door will be genuine callers.
But it’s best to make sure.
• Use your door chain or spy
hole, it will help you check
who the caller is.
• If you were not expecting
someone to call, a genuine
caller will not mind waiting
outside while you contact
their company. Find the phone
number in the phone book, or
look on your last bill.
• Most companies have a
password scheme.
• If you let someone into your
home, even if it is someone
you know, and you become
uncomfortable, make excuses
and leave. Go to a neighbour’s
house, or ask a friend to come
back with you.
Be a Good Neighbour,
report suspicious
activity immediately
to the Police on
0845 600 8000
10

GRANTSISSUE
2011
North East Grants Office
Customer Service Excellence
Since the last edition of
our Newsletter the high
standard of customer
service we deliver has
been recognised with the
attainment of the Customer
Service Excellence (CSE)
accreditation by our Grant
Offices.
CSE is a Government supported
accreditation which is only
achieved following a rigorous
independent assessment of the
systems we have in place and the
service we provide.
The external Assessor, in addition
to carrying out a review of our
systems, also visited three of our
Grants Offices to talk to staff
and review our facilities, visited a
number of our customers in their
homes, and also met with some
of our Partners who help deliver
our service.
It is particularly pleasing that
this accreditation was achieved
during a period of significant
change throughout the Grants
Department, including the
introduction of new ways of
working and a new
computer system,
while at the same
time preparing for a major
restructuring exercise involving
our Grant Offices.
We will continue to seek ways
to improve our service to you
over the coming year and if you
have any suggestions on how
our service can be improved we
would welcome your input. You
should contact your local Grants
Manager.
Private Sector Improvement
Service Consultative Forum
The delivery of the Grants
Scheme is not achieved in
isolation and it is only with
the help and co-operation
of our Partners that we
are able to process your
applications to completion.
In this regard we hold an
annual Consultative Forum
with our Partners and
Stakeholders at
which we discuss current
issues and consider the
future direction of the
service.
A Helping
Hand
Finding your way through
the grants process can
require some help and
assistance. Whilst staff
in the Grants Office are
available to assist, you
may be able to get help
with your application from
FOLD Housing Association,
if you are elderly (over 75),
or have a disability.
As Disabled Facilities Grants
continue to be our main area of
business it is important to get
the views of some of those who
help us deliver the service, such
as Occupational Therapists, the
Warranted Builder Schemes and
the Home Improvement Agencies
of FOLD and Gable. We also
invite those who represent our
customers such as Disability
Action, Help the Aged and the
Housing Rights Service. Individual
Grants Offices hold local
Customer Focus Groups at which
Acting on your behalf
FOLD can offer the
following services:
• Give advice on Housing
Grants
• Provide assistance with
completion of paperwork
including providing
information on local
architectural services and
building contractors
• Help you arrange a contractor
at approval stage
you have the opportunity to find
out what is happening at a local
level and to provide feedback
on how we might improve our
service. You will find details
elsewhere in this Newsletter on
how you can become part of this
group.
• Provide assistance with
queries whilst the work is in
progress
Advice and assistance is
free of charge
Staff in our Office work directly
with local FOLD representatives,
Susanne Warwick, Winston Kerr
and Alan Kane. They can be
contacted at 028 9042 8314
11

12
GRANTSISSUE
North East Grants Office
Useful telephone numbers
Ordnance Survey
T: 028 9025 1515
Building Control &
Environmental Health
Departments:
Antrim
T: 028 9446 3113
Ballymena
T: 028 2566 0300
Ballymoney
T: 028 2766 0224
Carrickfergus
T: 028 9335 1604
Coleraine
T: 028 7034 7253
Larne
T: 028 2827 2313
Moyle
T: 028 2076 2225
Newtownabbey
T: 028 9034 0000
Planning Service:
Ballymena:
T; 028 2565 3333
Why not
have your
say?
If you would like to
comment on our service
or the contents of this
newsletter please complete
and return the slip at the
bottom of this page.
Also, if you feel you would
be interested in being
part of our customer
focus group to look at
the different aspects of
thegrants process, indicate
this on the slip.
We will contact you, in
this regard, in due course.
We would welcome any
suggestions to improve
choice in the Grants
service.
2011
Belfast
T: 028 9025 2800
Coleraine
T: 028 7034 1300
NI Water
T: 028 2565 365
Occupational Therapy
Departments:
Antrim
T: 028 9442 6112
Ballycastle
T: 028 2076 2654
Ballymena
T: 028 2565 8666
Ballymoney/Coleraine
T: 028 7034 7870
Carrickfergus
T: 028 9085 5866
Larne
T: 028 2826 6158
Newtownabbey
T: 028 9034 1555
Fold Housing Trust
T: 028 9042 8314
Warranted Builders
Schemes
Building Guarantee Scheme
(BGS) T: 028 9087 7147
Contractors Insurance
Guarantee Services (CIGS)
T: 028 7032 5980
National Register of Warranted
Builders (FMB)
T: 028 9068 4260
National Housing Builders
Council (NHBC)
T: 028 9038 6000
Comments
I would be interested in joining your Grants Focus Group
Name
Address
Telephone
Please return to: Grants Manager, Twickenham House, Mount Street, Ballymena BT43 6BP
Construction Register Ltd (CRL)
T: 028 9049 2117
Construction Insurance Direct
(CID) T: 028 7035 5237
Citizens Advice Bureau
Antrim
T: 028 9442 8176
Ballymena
T; 028 2564 4398
Carrickfergus
T: 028 9335 1808
Coleraine
T: 028 7034 4817
Larne
T: 028 2826 0379
Newtownabbey
T: 028 9085 2271
Rural Community Network:
T: 028 8676 6670
Text Phone (24 hours)
0845 650 4381
W: www.nihe.gov.uk
Leaflets are available on all Grant
Types as well as the Following:
Lists Of Registered Builders
Assessing your Contribution
Standards of Service
Use of Recognised Contractors
Customer Care Charter
How to make a Complaint
These are also available in large
print if required. If you would like
a copy of any of the above,
please contact the Grants Office.
YES / NO
$
DPS/66/11/11