Agenda item

Report attached.

Members considered a report of Councillor Melissa Fisher, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Communities, seeking approval to allocate up to £250,000 of the Disabled Facilities Grant (Better Care Funding) programme for a pilot project in partnership with the National Health Service (Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board), Lancashire County Council and the Peel House Medical Practice.  The project aimed to fund early aid and adaptation interventions to prevent falls and hospital admissions and reduce the health burden cost.

Councillor Fisher provided a brief introduction to the report.

 Members discussed the following maters:

·         The difficulties in committing the full DFG allocation in previous years, which could be improved by this type of scheme;

·         A previous successful example of using DFG funding flexibly, to support the development of respite facilities on the site of the former North Cliffe School in Great Harwood;

·         A concern, based on a recent example, that sufficient DFG funding was sometimes difficult to secure for those in need, particularly where extensive adaptations were required, due to funding limits;

·         A concern that the allocation of £250k for this programme might lead to a shortfall in funds available for other aids and adaptations.

The Head of Regeneration and Housing, Mark Hoyle, responded that DFG funding was part of a wider pot of money allocated to the Council, via Lancashire County Council, from the Government.  One element of this funding was ring-fenced for DFG.  The regulations now allowed grater flexibilities in the use of this funding.  In previous years, the Council had struggled to utilise all of the money available.  The new legislation allowed the Council to broaden the scope of the grants available and the Council had appropriate policies in place to manage this wider remit.  For example, funding could be used to provide facilities to safely support people returning to the community from hospital.  This programme would operate in a similar manner.

On the question of funding limits, a mandatory limit of £30k was set for individual DFG allocations, but there was discretion to increase this to £50k in appropriate circumstances.

In respect of the overall level of grant funding, for the current year, an additional £164k had been allocated to the Council and this would be repeated in 2025/26.  An assurance was provided that no-one would lose out by the introduction of this pilot programme.  The preventative measures proposed by the new programme should save on future spending on more complex adaptations, or on future expensive hospital admissions.

Councillor Whitehead placed on record her personal thanks to Homewise for adaptations made to her own home.

Councillor Walsh asked if a similar scheme to enable dementia patients to remain in their own homes for longer could be considered.  Mr Hoyle undertook to look into the matter.

Approval of the report was not considered to be a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

Injury from trips and falls especially among older, vulnerable adults was a significant reason for hospital admissions and a future burden on health budgets.  Discussions had taken place at the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board about a pilot project, which aimed to identify those people at risk of falls in the home and then to apply a targeted approach to install appropriate aids and adaptations to eligible households to prevent falls in the home, as well as reduce morbidity and mortality.

A similar project carried out in Wales between 2010 and 2017 showed that frail elderly residents living in areas of higher social deprivation were more likely to have significant falls resulting in hospital admission and subsequently poorer health outcomes.  Data studied suggested that intervening with home adaptations, such as stair rails and grab rails and into ensuring homes were well heated/warm, could reduce this risk.

Peel House Medical Practice had volunteered and agreed to take part in the pilot with the aim of targeting a cohort in the Practice’s locality based on frailty scores in households aged over 50.  With the households’ permission, the aim was to carry out home assessments to identify potential and appropriate aids and adaptations to reduce the risk of falls and enable people to remain in their home longer.

Hyndburn Homewise Society, Hyndburn’s independent home improvement agency, already provided aids and adaptations in conjunction with Hyndburn Borough Council and for Lancashire County Council.  The report proposed to award Hyndburn Homewise a contract up to the a maximum value of £250,000, to enhance the services already provided by Homewise and for the funding to be ring fenced for the aids and adaptations pilot project.

Homewise Society was a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), Charity Number: 1179077.

Peel House Medical Practice would identify the potential households after which Homewise would arrange a household inspection, identify, and then install appropriate aids and adaptations to the home and this would be funded from the DGF grant monies.

It was proposed to waive contract procedure rules for the following reasons:

·         Hyndburn Homewise already provided an aids and adaptations service for Lancashire County Council and therefore this funding award would add to the existing service, using their local knowledge and expertise;

·         The pilot project had been developed in conjunction with similar activities carried out by Homewise and in conjunction with local health services; and

·         The funding would be used to cover costs only, with no profit element, therefore maximising the amount of available funding to assist eligible households.

There were no alternative options for consideration or reasons

Resolved                                    -    That Cabinet:

(1)    Agrees to waive the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules in respect of appointing Homewise Society to administer funding up to a maximum of £250,000 for the provision of aids and adaptations to eligible vulnerable households living within the pilot project area for the reasons set out in the report.

(2)   Notes that the funding award is subject to formal approval by Lancashire County Council that is expected imminently.

(3)   Agrees that the cost of the funding, up to a maximum of £250,000, will be met from the Council’s Disabled Facilities (DFG) Funding programme.

(4)   Delegates authority to the Head of Regeneration and Housing in consultation with the Executive Director (Legal and Democratic Services), to draw up, finalise and execute a contract with Homewise Society for the pilot project.