More than £165m to support home adaptations for disabled people

Communities Minister Lord McKenzie has today granted over £165m to help local councils pay for adaptations that will enable disabled people to live comfortably and independently in their own homes.

The Disabled Facilities Grant programme will help around 40,000 people with disabilities make improvements to their homes, thereby improving their everyday lives and allowing them to avoid the hassle and costs of moving house.

The Minister has today announced how much cash each council will receive this April to support people in their local area.

The grant can be used for a wide variety of adjustments that will make life easier for disabled people, including severely disabled ex-Service personnel, such as improved lighting for better visibility or improved access to the home through ramps and widened doors.

Lord McKenzie said: "These grants will make life significantly easier every day for many thousands of people. No one wants to go through the upheaval of moving house when it is avoidable. This money enables people to stay in their own home, while enjoying an improved quality of life."

The Disabled Facilities Grant forms one part of the Right to Control Trailblazers, a series of pilots in which participating disabled people have the right to choose and control the support they receive.

Minister for Disabled People, Jonathan Shaw, said: "Disabled people are the experts in their own lives - that's why we've worked together to give them more control over funding and services.

"In the Right to Control Trailblazers, thousands of disabled people will have more choice over how funding, such as the Disabled Facilities Grant, can help them live independently in their own homes."

Julia Skelton of the College of Occupational Therapists welcomed today's announcement, saying:

"Providing an environment that is accessible is important in helping people to remain in their own homes for longer; Disabled Facilities Grants play an important part in helping to make this happen."

Many recipients will be able to remain, or become, independent as a result of receiving the grant, as they will now be able to do things alone that would otherwise have required assistance. The grant is means tested so it reaches those most in need.