Disabled Facilities Grants and Young People in Wales
The enactment of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 has raised challenging questions about the procedure by which Welsh local authorities process ‘disabled facilities grants’ (DFGs). A paper in The Rhydian: on-line Journal of Social Welfare Law in Wales (volume 2, 2018) considers this issue in detail.
The paper considers the interplay between three statutory provisions: (1) the duty to make DFG grants (under the Housing Grant, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996); (2) the underpinning duty to support disabled children in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014; and the power to provide housing support under the Regulatory Reform (Housing Assistance) (England and Wales) Order 2002 (RRO).
The paper argues that local authorities must undertake a radical review of the way they provide financial support for home adaptations for disabled young people and it calls upon the Welsh Government to provide updated and ‘clear’ guidance on this important question. The paper can be accessed by clicking here.