§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on recent developments in resuming housing adaptations for disabled people. [118542]
§ Mr. McNultyLocal housing authorities have a statutory duty to offer means tested Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) to eligible applicants who require adaptations to help them live independently in their own homes. The grant continues to be available to homeowners and tenants in both the private and social rented sector.
The Government will also continue to meet 60 per cent. of local authority expenditure incurred on DFGs. The budget for this grant for English authorities in 2003–04 is £99 million compared with £88 million in 2002–03 and £56 million in 1997–98.
Daventry Council's share of this national budget in 2003–04 is £97,000, compared with only £28,000 in 1997–98.