Helping residents stay in their own homes

Councillors are due to discuss changes to Hastings Borough Council's financial assistance policy at the Cabinet meeting on Monday 5 June.

The financial assistance policy includes details about Disabled Facilities Grants. It sets out the eligibility and assistance available under both the mandatory and discretionary aspects of the grant funding.

Following a review, the discretionary assistance available has been widened, in line with government guidance and legislation. This means more help is available to eligible residents for a range of adaptations. This is so residents can continue to live in their home for as long as they feel able to.

The Cabinet report also details how the council will look to second another occupational therapist into the team funded through the DFG to help improve the service for residents.

The council will also be working with East Sussex County Council and the local NHS to see if the applications process can be made smoother.

The changes to the policy include:

• Discretionary DFG for Working Age Applicants with a rapidly deteriorating or terminal conditions - to provide assistance to applicants of working age (who may still be currently working) who have a rapidly deteriorating or terminal conditions (such as Motor Neurone Disease [MND]);
• Discretionary Children's Grant - Adapting a Second property - where a disabled child splits their time between two different properties as a result of parental/guardian separation, this will allow a grant for the cost of making adaptations to the second property;
• Dementia Assistance - to help people with dementia to make small changes to the home that would support them to live in their own home safely and for longer;
• Discretionary DFG for Child Garden Adaptations - mandatory DFGs only fund access to the garden. This additional assistance will allow children who are wheelchair users or have challenging behaviours, and who often cannot access local parks, the opportunity to have access to a safe outdoor space;
• Adaptations Assistance for Empty Homes - there is a shortage of supply of accessible properties for those with disabilities and properties that are suitable for adaptation for persons with a disability. It is recognised there may be properties currently empty which could be utilised to provide a home for someone who's current property is not suitable for adaptation.

Eligibility criteria and requirements vary depending on the type of assistance being applied for. Once approved the policy will be available on the council website.

The full list of amendments to the policy is available in the Cabinet agenda which is available online.

Cllr Judy Rogers, lead councillor for planning, governance, community safety and disabled access, said: "We want to help more residents stay in homes they know and love, and stop people having to move out because they can't safely live in their homes. In Hastings we have limited housing available and by expanding the DFG scheme we are hoping to tackle some of these accessibility issues allowing people to stay in their own homes for longer."

The meeting will be able to watch online from 6pm on Monday 5 June, and you can read the papers online.

If you are having difficulty living in your home due to mobility or health issues, please contact the Health and Social Care team at East Sussex County Council. You can call them on 0345 6080191 from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

You can find out more on the East Sussex County Council website.