§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy that no elderly or disabled person should wait more than six months for an assessment of610W needs, the provision of finance and the execution of works required under disability facilities grant arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [128898]
§ Yvette CooperDisabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) are administered by local authorities who are under a statutory duty to notify an applicant on whether or not their application is approved as soon as is reasonably practicable, but no later than six months after the date of application. The grant is payable on completion of the works. Authorities have a statutory power to delay payment if they are under financial pressure but in these cases this must not be beyond 12 months from the date of grant application.
We have recently consulted on new Office of the Deputy Prime Minister/Department of Health draft guidance on delivering housing adaptations for disabled people, which sets out the Government's view of best practice on service delivery. This includes target times for the complete delivery process including needs assessment, processing of the application and the completion of building works. These target times will depend on the complexity of, and priority attached to, individual cases but the guidance suggests that the maximum target time for the entire process should in any event be no more than 260 working days and only 80 working days in high priority cases.
We are currently considering responses to this consultation and hope to issue final guidance to local housing and social service authorities before the end of this year.