Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-04-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people who require adapted housing in England in 2016-17.

Brandon Lewis

The Government recognises the critical importance housing adaptations have in sustaining wellbeing and helping older and disabled people to live independently. Since 2010 we have invested over £1 billion in the Disabled Facilities Grant, providing around 250,000 adaptations to older and disabled people’s homes in England. We secured a year on year increase for the Disabled Facilities Grant over the Spending Review, meaning that the grant will increase 79% in 2016-17 to £394 million, rising to over £500 million by 2020.

We also acknowledged the vital part adaptations play in the integration of housing, health and social care by incorporating Disabled Facilities Grant into the Better Care Fund in 2015.

Most recent data on the number of homes needing adaptations will be available in the 2014-15 English Housing Survey, due for publication in July 2016.