Government to review its policy on the upper limit of DFG-funded home adaptations
The UK government has agreed to review the limit paid to help fund specialist adaptations to disabled people’s homes following a legal challenge by a family left unable to meet their child’s needs.
The case was brought on behalf of a six-year-old disabled child, from Tower Hamlets, London. The family live in a one-bedroom property and require an extension to provide an extra bedroom and additional space for equipment related to the child’s disability. The extension is estimated to cost up to £100,000.
However, the current limit families can receive under the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) – paid through local authorities – was set at £30,000 in 2008. Whilst local authorities have discretion to ‘top up’ this amount, in practice most try to work within the existing DFG limit, preventing many disabled people from obtaining the adaptations they need for their homes.
The family, who cannot be named for legal reasons, instructed specialist public law and human rights lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to bring a High Court challenge against the limit which was set in 2008 and hasn’t increased since.
This is despite a government-commissioned review in 2018 finding the average cost of extensions required by the most severely disabled adults and children were above the £30,000 limit, and recommending the limit be increased in line with inflation.
A judicial review challenge was filed in the High Court arguing that the previous government had promised to review the upper limit, but then failed to do so.
However, the case has now been settled, on the basis that the new government has agreed to begin a review of the upper limit within the next six weeks. This review will take no longer than three months and will consider the impact of the £30,000 limit on disabled people who may require adaptations costing more than this amount.
Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell say the settlement could have significant implications for disabled people who find that the current upper limit of the grant doesn’t cover the potential adaptions and extensions they need to make to their home.
This includes disabled children and people with learning disabilities or autism, who are disproportionately likely to need adaptations to their homes which cost more than £30,000.
Oliver Carter, the specialist public law and human rights lawyer representing the family, commented: “The news that the government has accepted the upper limit of the DFG needs to be reviewed is a victory for our client but also for all disabled people in England and Wales who may need adaptations to their homes.
“The upper limit has remained unchanged for the best part of two decades despite building costs and the cost of materials spiralling. As a previous review has shown, it cannot cover the cost of extensions in many parts of the country, leaving people unable to adapt their homes to meet their needs.”
In December 2021, the government published a White Paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform’, in which it committed to increase the amount that a DFG can pay for an individual adaptation. This commitment was later dropped or de-prioritised by the previous government, leading to this judicial review challenge.
The recent Autumn Budget announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves saw an extra £86 million allocated to disabled facilities grants next year.
