Agenda item

To receive evidence as part of the Scrutiny Review of Disabled Facilities Grant

The Committee received the results of a survey conducted by the Stockton Parent Carer Forum regarding their members experience of applying for and receiving Disability Facilities Grants. The Forum supported over 2,000 families of children and young people aged 0 – 25 with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, The questions in the survey included:

• Have you applied for a grant and was the application successful?
• If successful how was your experience from starting the application to the finished works?
• If you were unsuccessful, were you given advice and information as to other options?
• Are you happy with the work that was completed?
• What could be done to improve the DFG based on your personal experience?

The Co-Chair of the Forum noted that 19 responses had been received, and the key issues from these included:

• People did not feel they were being heard and understood, which was particularly important to meet their needs
• People were not given extra information if they did not receive a DFG
• The  work being carried out was not always to a good standard, and there was a suggestion this was due to building costs increasing having an impact on budgets/quality

The survey highlighted that consistency and communication needed to be addressed in the delivery of DFG’s.

Aftercare was discussed with members noting how important this was. Members questioned whether the work was checked after completion and informed that a technical officer visits the property to check the works were completed to standard and sign off the work in conjunction with the client.

It was questioned how parents and carers find out about DFG’s, and whether the Forum promoted these. Members were informed that families were referred for a DFG by professionals e.g. social workers, but could also find out about the process by word of mouth and the Forum did circulate information on council services on a rota basis. It was further questioned whether receiving support in filling in the grant application would improve the success rate, and informed that officers did assist with applications.

Further information from one respondent regarding their experience was tabled. The respondent had received a DFG five years previously for a new garden fence and was happy with the process as well as the work that was carried out. It enabled the family to have full use of their outdoor space, without fear of injury, and gave them more privacy.

The Chair of the Committee thanked the Co-Chair of Stockton Parent Carer Forum for the survey.

The Committee also noted the services customer survey results from July – September 2024, which 24 people completed. The survey asked respondents to rate the following aspects of service on a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being poor and 10 being excellent:

• Standard of information & communication prior to works commencing
• Standard of communication & updates received throughout the works
• Appearance and conduct of staff
• Quality of works on completion
• Service overall

Most respondents rated all aspects as 10, with only one respondent rating  slightly lower (8/9) on two aspects: information and communication prior to and throughout the works. All comments received were very positive, praising the professionalism of the workers and quality of their work. Two further comments that were received via other methods were shared with the survey results, and these were also positive noting the impact that these had on their lives.

AGREED that the information be noted.