Home adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants
Hello,
I hope you are well. Could you please treat my request for the information below as a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please could you provide the following information on Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) or similar grants provided under your discretionary Housing Assistance Policy:
1a. The total number of referrals from occupational therapists received for home adaptations in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
1bi. The total number of households means tests completed for home adaptations in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
1bii. How many potential applicants did not proceed with making a grant application following a means test in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
1c. The total number of formal applications received for home adaptations in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
1d. The total number of formal applications approved in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
1e. The total number of grants completed in the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
For the questions below, please could you specify which average measure you are using, whether it is median or mean. However, the median would be preferable.
2a. What was the average number of working days from first contact for someone to receive an initial assessment from an occupational therapist (or similar person) in each of the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
2b. What was the average number of working days between someone receiving an initial assessment from an occupational therapist (or similar person) and the date of
the referral to the housing department/ district council in each of the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
2c. What was the average number of working days between the date of the referral to the housing department/ district council and the date of the formal grant application in each of the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
2d. What was the average number of working days between the date of
receipt of the formal application and the certified/ completion date of installing the adaptations in each of the financial years 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 until 30th September 2021?
3a. If the council is currently using its discretionary powers to provide additional funding in addition to the maximum DFG amount, please state what the new figure is and what legislation has been used to increase the figure.
In the spirit of Section 16 of the FOI Act — to “provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made requests for information” — if you cannot answer all of these questions, please contact me to discuss what information you could supply at the earliest opportunity on 07516275710.
If you feel you cannot provide all of this information, please provide the information you can.
Please could you acknowledge this FOI request by reply with a reference on receipt AND could the information be forwarded by email in an Excel (xls) document and not a PDF.
I look forward to hearing from you promptly, and at any rate, within the statutory time limit of 20 working days from your receipt of this email.
Whilst writing, I take this opportunity to remind you of the Information Commissioner's public statements, in which he has stated that there is a "presumption of disclosure" under FOI.
Please note that if this request for FOI disclosure is refused, I reserve the right to take up the matter with the Information Commissioner and/or to pursue all legal avenues of appeal.
Thank you in advance.
Kind regards,
Vicky Gayle
Dear Gareth Davies
Thank you for your information request received on 19 October 2021.
We can confirm receipt of your request for information and will handle it
under the most appropriate legislation.
Your case reference number is FOI 30301
You can expect to receive a response by 16 November 2021.
The Council will be in touch if we need any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Information Management Team
Buckinghamshire Council
[1][Buckinghamshire Council request email]
[2]Thank you
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Dear Mr Davies
FOI 30301
Thank you for contacting Buckinghamshire Council and your request for
information regarding Home adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants.
This request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
We can confirm that Buckinghamshire Council does hold part of the
information falling within the description specified in your request.
Please find the relevant details attached.
Please note:
On 1st April 2020, the new Buckinghamshire Council replaced the five
former councils in Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury Vale District Council,
Buckinghamshire County Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks
District Council and Wycombe District Council).
All local government services previously provided by the former councils
have now transferred to the new council.
We have therefore collated the information, where available, from the
former District Councils.
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remember to quote the reference number provided in the subject line of
this email in any future communications.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
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writing to us at
Information Governance
Buckinghamshire Council
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Alternatively, you can phone them on 0303 123 1113.
With kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Deputy Chief Executive Directorate
Buckinghamshire Council
New County Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UA
[3][Buckinghamshire Council request email]
[4]Thank you
DISCLAIMER FOR BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender and
are not necessarily those of Buckinghamshire Council unless explicitly
stated.
This email and any attachments may contain confidential or privileged
information and is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity
to whom it is addressed. Any confidential, sensitive or protectively
marked material must be handled accordingly.
If you are not the intended recipient you must not disclose, distribute,
copy, print or rely on any of the information contained in the email or
attachments, and all copies must be deleted immediately. If you do receive
this email in error please notify the sender immediately and note that
confidentiality or privilege is not waived or lost.
Buckinghamshire Council may monitor the contents of emails sent and
received via its network for the purposes of ensuring compliance with
relevant legislation and the Council’s policies and procedures. All such
monitoring will take place in accordance with relevant legislation
including privacy and data protection legislation. For details of how
Buckinghamshire Council uses personal information please see the Council’s
website.
Buckinghamshire Council has scanned this email and attachments for viruses
but does not accept any responsibilities for viruses once this email has
been transmitted. You should therefore carry out your own anti-virus
checks before opening any documents.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Buckinghamshire Council request email]
2. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
3. mailto:[Buckinghamshire Council request email]
Dear Freedom of Information,
Thank you for the information. I see that next to some of the rows for Question 2, which asks about waits, the average measure is on some but not all rows. For clarity, please can you ensure that for each council, where there is data for 2a-2d, it's clear that the same average measure is being used and then resend the Excel document?
For instance, for Chiltern Council, no average measure has been stated. However, for Aylesbury, the median is stated for 2c/2d only, but there is data for 2a/2b. I don't want to make any assumptions.
Look forward to hearing from you again and many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Vicky Gayle
Dear Ms Gayle
Thank you for contacting Buckinghamshire Council.
We have forwarded your query below to the relevant Service Area to provide
a response.
We aim to provide this to you by 10 January.
With kind regards
Freedom of Information Team
Deputy Chief Executive Directorate
Buckinghamshire Council
New County Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UA
[1][Buckinghamshire Council request email]
Dear Gareth Davies,
As per your recent comments below, please find attached an updated copy of your Freedom of Information response.
Many Thanks
Stephanie Wallis
Information Complaint Case Officer
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