North East Area Grants Newsletter 2011

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.
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