Castle Point Council received a request for funding from an occupational therapist on behalf of the family. The therapist found the child was facing a range of difficulties, including access in and out of the home, access to the bathroom, which is located upstairs, and – getting in and out of the bath.
The therapist has recommended that a ground floor extension be built to provide access to bedroom and bathroom facilities and that a new ramp be provided to enable the child to get in and out of the property.
The council has received the recommendation for grants for disabled facilities. The therapist says the changes to the home are necessary to allow the youngster to “live safely and as independently as possible in their own home.”
As the cost of these works is forecast to exceed the mandatory limit of £30,000, an additional discretionary grant is being requested to ‘top up’ the mandatory grant.
The council says the works applied for are “considered necessary and appropriate to meet the needs of Child A and are reasonable and practicable considering the age and condition of the building”.
The independent lead authority also says that if funding is not approved for the requested adaptations, “there is likely to be a risk to the ongoing health and safety of the disabled resident due to ongoing difficulties accessing appropriate washing and bathing facilities.”
The cheapest acceptable of three quotes for completing the relevant works, including all fees, was £115,425.24. Still, the council, subject to meeting eligibility criteria, is legally required to approve properly made applications for the grant of up to £30,000.
The council is set to finalise the funding at a meeting on January 22. Documents from the meeting say: “The family of Child A, via loans and charitable funding, has been able to secure a total of £62,000 to put towards the works, leaving a total of £23,425.24 after the £30,000 mandatory grant has been awarded.
“However, with works of this type and extent, the need to provide a contingency for unforeseen works is industry standard, so it is recommended that authorisation of up to £30,000 is approved to ensure that any reasonable unforeseen works can be covered within the grant. This will create a contingency of £6,574.76 or 21.92 per cent.
“The works applied for are considered necessary and appropriate to meet the needs of Child A and are reasonable and practicable, considering the age and condition of the building. If additional funding was not to be approved for the requested adaptations, there is likely to be a risk to the ongoing health and safety of the disabled resident, due to ongoing difficulties accessing appropriate washing and bathing facilities.”