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2 Disabled Facilities Grant

ePagee

eIntroductione 3

eStep OneeAssessment of your Needs 4

eStep TwoeThe Panel Meeting 5

eStep ThreeeThe DFG Application Process 6 - 7

eStep FoureGrant Approval 8

eStep FiveeWork in Progress 9

eStep SixePayment for Work 10

Future Maintenance of the Adaptation 10

Useful Names & Numbers 10

Compliments, Comments & Complaints 11

Useful Contacts 11

Further Information 11

Getting in Touch 11

Disabled Facilities Grant 3

eIntroductioneIf you are disabled, or someone living with you is disabled, a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) may help pay for your home to be adapted.

This leaflet gives you some general information about the grant process and describes the main steps involved when you apply for a DFG in Havering. It also provides you with space to record the progress of your grant application.

Grants for a range of work are mandatory. This means that the Council must offer you a grant if you qualify for it. However, because the grants are means-tested, you should not assume that you will automatically be offered one. If the work you need to adapt your home is not ‘mandatory’ work but would help you to continue to live independently the Council can put you in contact with other organisations that may be able to help pay for the work.

If you are a Council tenant your adaptation will be funded in another way and you should contact 01708 432000.

4 Disabled Facilities Grant

eStep OneeAssessment of Your Needs

The first step in the process is for your Occupational Therapist (OT) to carry out an assessment of your needs. In Havering this is done at an early stage as there may be a number of different solutions to your problem. Please contact Havering Direct (social services) 01708 423000.

Once you have made contact with the Council there may be a wait before you are seen. Waiting times vary depending on the urgency of the request.

A range of options may be discussed with you. If your needs are complex it may be necessary to approach your GP, consultant or social worker for more information. Once the assessment is complete and if a DFG appears to be relevant for you, your OT will make a recommendation to their team manager or to a panel about the best way to meet your needs.

Date assessment requested:

Date assessment completed:

Disabled Facilities Grant 5

eStep TwoeThe Panel Meeting

The panel is made up of representatives from the Council’s grants department and adult social care. Your OT will tell you the date of the meeting when your case will be discussed. After the meeting your OT will write and let you know the decision of the panel. You will not be required to attend the panel meeting, this is for Council staff only.

If your need for an adaptation is agreed in principle by the panel your case will be passed to the grants department where the DFG is administered. The team will then contact you and ask you to complete a formal application for a DFG.

Date of panel meeting:

6 Disabled Facilities Grant

eStep ThreeeThe DFG Application Process

This process can be complex and timescales often depend on how quickly you can provide the information required. However, on average it takes about three to four weeks to process a grant application for a small adaptation, such as for a stairlift or a level access shower

For larger adaptations which require planning permission, for example extensions, the application process can sometimes take longer.

This is the first half of the process. Once the grant has been approved, you can then arrange for the work to be carried out.

Please refer also to Step five – Work in progress.

The Financial Test

The DFG is a contributory grant which means that, depending on your financial situation, you may be asked to contribute towards the cost of the adaptation you need. You will be asked to complete a ‘test of resources form’ which requires you to give full details of your income and savings and those of your partner, if relevant. Help is available if needed to complete this form and you will be told as soon as possible if you will need to pay anything. If you need help to complete this form please contact the Grants Team on 01708 434070.

Parents or guardians applying for a DFG on behalf of a disabled child up to 16 years or between 16-20 in ordinary non advanced full-time education do not need to go through the financial test.

Test of resources form completed:

Notified of contribution:

Agreed to pay contribution:

Disabled Facilities Grant 7

Other grant application forms

Apart from the ‘test of resources form’ there are other grant application papers for which help is available if you are having problems completing them.

Date sent to Council:

Obtaining quotes

This is part of the grant application process and has to be done using a detailed list of the work needed, known as a schedule of work. It will be prepared by one of the Council’s surveyors in conjunction with you and your OT. In the more complex cases such as building an extension, formal plans will be required, usually supported with planning permission. In these circumstances, we strongly advise that you employ either your own professional agent or architect. Your OT will be able to provide you with details of some reputable architects who have provided assistance to other clients who applied for DFGs, however the final choice of which architect you use is up to you, providing they are suitably qualified and experienced.

Date of surveyor’s inspection:

You or your agent/architect will need to choose a contractor. The Council operates a list of ‘registered contractors’. All contractors on this list have been through a vetting process. In more complex cases contractors will probably want stage payments. If you choose to employ a contractor who is not on the registered list, your grant will only be released to you when the work is completely finished.

Date quotes returned to the Council:

8 Disabled Facilities Grant

eStep FoureGrant Approval

The law says the Council must give you a decision on your grant application within six months of receiving a completed grant application - all application papers completed fully and supporting documents including contractors quotes provided. However, the Council tries to reach a decision much faster than this, usually within four weeks.

Please note if you carry out any work before the grant offer is made you will be responsible for the cost of that work. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Once all the grant application papers are provided to the Council they will be passed to the grant officer who will check them and if everything is in order a grant will be offered for the reasonable costs of doing the work needed plus any associated architect fees. This means that if the grant officer thinks the contractor’s quote is too high they will only offer a grant for a proportion of the cost.

Date of grant approval:

The grant offer is valid for 12 months so work must be completed within this timescale. If you don’t think you can meet this timescale you should contact the grant officer immediately.

Disabled Facilities Grant 9

eStep FiveeWork in Progress

How long it takes for the work to be carried out depends how busy the contractor is but for a straightforward adaptation such as a stairlift or level access shower, work should be finished about two months after a grant approval has been issued. For more complex work such as an extension it could be four to six months.

If you have chosen to arrange the adaptation yourself the timescales will be determined by you and your contractor. Please tell the homes, housing and public protection service when work is due to start as the grant inspector or OT will need to check the work. Always tell the Council immediately if you are unhappy with the standard of work.

Contractor one is:

Date work starts:

Grant inspector notified:

Contractor two is:

Date work starts:

Grant inspector notified:

10 Disabled Facilities Grant

eStep SixePayment for Work

You must sign the contractor’s invoice to say that you are happy with the work and then send it to the grants officer. The grant will then be paid, less any fees payable to the Council as shown on the grant approval, and you must pay any balance due to the contractor.

Work finished:

Invoice sent to grants officer:

Payment made:

Future maintenance of the adaptation

When any guarantee for the work has expired you will be responsible for the up-keep of the adaptation. For a lift or hoist, your OT will be able to give you advice on setting up servicing and maintenance arrangements.

Useful Names and Numbers

Name of OT:

Phone number:

Name of grant inspector:

Phone number:

Name of grants officer:

Phone number:

Disabled Facilities Grant 11

Compliments, comments and complaints

Your comments are important to us as they help us to improve the service we offer. We hope that you are satisfied with the service you receive. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the DFG application process we also need to know. In the first instance it is best to speak to the staff directly involved and explain to them the difficulty. They will then try to address your concerns. If you do not feel comfortable contacting staff directly, or you are unhappy with the response they have provided, you can make a complaint.

Useful Contacts

Havering Direct (social services) 01708 432000

DFG Team 01708 434070

Getting in touch

If you would like to find out more you, or someone on your behalf, can contact us:

t: 01708 434070 e: Grants@havering.gov.uk www.havering.gov.uk @LBofHavering

Write to us at: Grants Team, Housing 5th Floor Mercury House Mercury Gardens Romford RM1 3SL

www.havering.gov.uk@LBofHavering

iDesign & Print byi London Borough of Haveringi • Job no: D2329, November 2012i