§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what his policy is on the level of renovation grant aid available to individual householders; [139688]
(2) what support is available to residents of park homes with specific reference to (a) home repairs assistance and (b) disabled facilities grant. [139689]
§ Mr. MullinRenovation grants, which are given at the discretion of local authorities, are calculated on the basis of the cost of the relevant works and the amount the applicant can afford to contribute. They have no upper limit. There is a limit of £0,000 for disabled facilities grants, which are mandatory, but local authorities have discretion to pay more. Home repair assistance, which is available for smaller works, is limited to £2,000 per grant.
Residents of park homes are eligible for renovation grants, home repair assistance and disabled facilities grants if they meet the other criteria for the grants. The grants are available to both owners and tenants but, for a renovation grant or disabled facilities grant, the owner of the dwelling must also own the land on which it is stationed. Where a grant is not available, the local authority has the option of assisting in other ways, for example by offering a tenancy in its own housing or nomination to a registered social landlord.
The Housing Green Paper, which we published in April, contained proposals to reform the legislation governing renovation grants and home repair assistance. We will announce shortly how we propose to proceed with those reforms.
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