Disability News Service’s John Pring reports (27 November 2015) that the government appears to have committed to funding two new measures aimed at tackling the shortage of accessible housing for disabled and older people.
Announcing the results of the spending review, which detail the government’s spending plans until the next general election in 2020, George Osborne told MPs that the government’s task was “to rebuild Britain, build our finances, build our defences, build our society”.
His spending review document includes a pledge to build 8,000 “specialist” homes for older and disabled people, and also appears to offer substantial new funding for disabled facilities grants (DFGs).
The document pledges “over £500 million by 2019-20 for the DFG, which will fund around 85,000 home adaptations that year”.
If that pledge represents annual funding, it will represent an increase of more than 170 per cent, compared with DFG spending of £185 million in 2014-15.
But if it represents total funding in the four years to 2019-20, it would signify a steep cut in DFG funding…
Find out more from http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/spending-review-mystery-over-accessible-housing-pledges/