Disabled Facalities Grant
Dear Hastings Borough Council,
For the last 5 years :
· What was the total annual cost of Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG's) for each year paid to applicants?
· What was the average monetary DFG grant made available annually to applicants?
· How many DFG grants were made each year?
· Did Hastings Borough Council add any discretionary monetary top ups to individual DFG grants and if so how much each year.
· Did Hastings Borough Council annually use up the total amount of funds available for DFG's?
· What maximum percentage did you allow for support in submitting the application that has been approved (i.e. architectural/surveying fees?)
· What investment did Hastings Borough Council make from your own resources into Disabled Facilities Grants
· What was the longest, shortest and average time taken from formal application to formal approval?
· What percentage of DFG’s were awarded to RSL tenants.
Regards
Yours faithfully,
David Oakley
Dear Mr Oakley
Many Thanks for your recent request for information ref: 12/478 regarding
Disabled Facilities Grants.
Our Housing Team have asked for further clarification, please can I ask
the following in red below?
Request for Information
For the last 5 years :
· What was the total annual cost of Disabled Facilities Grants
(DFG's) for each year paid to applicants? - Does this mean the total
amount spent on all DFGs in each of the last 5 financial years? It is not
usual for grant monies to be paid direct to the applicants.
· What was the average monetary DFG grant made available annually to
applicants? - Does this mean what was the average cost of a DFG in each
given financial year? Or does it mean what was the maximum grant level
for each DFG?
· How many DFG grants were made each year? - Is this how many DFGs
were approved in each year or how many DFGs were completed?
Many Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you
With Kind Regards
Lisa Greathead
Information Officer
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Dear Information Officer,
What was the total annual cost of Disabled Facilities Grants
(DFG's) for each year paid to applicants? - Does this mean the total
amount spent on all DFGs in each of the last 5 financial years? It is not
usual for grant monies to be paid direct to the applicants.
Although the money does not go direct to applicants, the grant is awarded in their name. For clarification it is the total amount spent on DFG’s in the last 5 years.
• What was the average monetary DFG grant made available annually to
applicants? - Does this mean what was the average cost of a DFG in each
given financial year? Or does it mean what was the maximum grant level
for each DFG?
The average cost of a DFG in each given year.
• How many DFG grants were made each year? - Is this how many DFGs
were approved in each year or how many DFGs were completed?
How many DFG’s were completed and paid within each year.
I hope this clarifies the questions. Many thanks.
Yours sincerely,
David Oakley
Dear Mr Oakley,
I refer to your recent request for information from this Authority. Our
answer(s) to your questions are below.
I trust we have interpreted your request correctly, and this is the
information you required.
You have a right to make a complaint to us if you are not happy with any
aspect of the way we have handled your
request for information. Please contact me in writing with details of any
complaint you wish to make. I will then arrange
for your complaint to be dealt with through our usual internal complaints
process. If you are then still unhappy you may
Complain to the Information commissioner who will decide whether the
request has-been handled properly. Please note
that the Information commissioner cannot generally make a decision unless
our complaints process has first been
exhausted. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at The
Information Commissioners' Officer, Wycliffe House,
Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 AF
Yours sincerely,
Lisa Greathead
Information Officer
Town Hall
Queens Road
Hastings
TN34 1QR
01424 451066
E Mail: [email address]
Start of Request for Information
This is based on financial years
I've also added the responses to my queries for clarity:
For the last 5 years :
· What was the total annual cost of Disabled Facilities Grants
(DFG's) for each year paid to applicants?
Although the money does not go direct to applicants, the grant is awarded
in their name. For clarification it is the total amount spent on DFG’s in
the last 5 years.
Answer = £4,177,211.9
· What was the average monetary DFG grant made available annually to
applicants? -
The average cost of a DFG in each given year.
Answer:
2007/2008 = £5,217
2008/2009 = £7,901
2009/2010 = £9,139
2010/2011 = £9,431
2011/2012 = £7,631
· How many DFG grants were made each year? -
The following DFG’s were completed and paid within each year.
Answer:
2007/2008 = 59
2008/2009 = 141
2009/2010 = 96
2010/2011 = 65
2011/2012 = 121
· Did Hastings Borough Council add any discretionary monetary top ups
to individual DFG grants and if so how much each year.
Answer = no
· Did Hastings Borough Council annually use up the total amount of
funds available for DFG's?
Answer = no - there have been under spends and over spends against the DFG
budget, all of which have been carried forward into subsequent years.
· What maximum percentage did you allow for support in submitting the
application that has been approved (i.e. architectural/surveying fees?)
Fees and charges associated with grant/assistance will be paid as part of
the provision of assistance/grant, subject to the maximum amounts of
grant/assistance. These include:
• Fees charged by home improvement agencies
• Private architects’, or surveyors’ fees
• Charges for planning permission, or building regulations approval
• Charges relating to Party Wall Act 1996 awards
• Fees relating to structural reports
• The costs of any electrical report carried out by a NICEIC
electrician, required by the Council, to establish what electrical works
are necessary
• Land Registry fees
The Council will determine which fees are eligible for assistance/grant,
the level of the fees and whether they are properly incurred.
The maximum fee level is 25% of the eligible grant/assistance value, which
includes agent’s fees. The Housing Renewal Manager retains the discretion
to waive this maximum in exceptional circumstances.
In reality the 'fee' level associated with DFGs rarely goes above 10%
· What investment did Hastings Borough Council make from your own
resources into Disabled Facilities Grants
Answer:
2007/2008 = £293,000
2008/2009 = £360,000
2009/2010 = £305,000
2010/2011 = £240,000
2011/2012 = £428,000
· What was the longest, shortest and average time taken from formal
application to formal approval?
Answer:
2007/2008 = longest time = 145 days shortest time = 0 days average time =
20.72 days
2008/2009 = longest time = 199 days shortest time = 0 days average time =
39.19 days
2009/2010 = longest time = 196 days shortest time = 3 days average time =
98.98 days
2010/2011 = longest time = 371 days shortest time = 0 days average time =
27.84 days
2011/2012 = longest time = 125 days shortest time = 3 days average time =
25.34 days
· What percentage of DFG’s were awarded to RSL tenants.
Answer: % of completed DFGs
2007/2008 = 72.9%
2008/2009 = 57.4%
2009/2010 = 60.4%
2010/2011 = 53.8%
2011/2012 = 51.2%
End of Request for Information
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