£50m funding boost will have 'limited impact', care leaders warn

The impact of a new £50m boost aimed at helping people adapt their homes to live more independently will be limited without investment in occupational therapy support, care leaders warned.

The Government recently revealed an additional £50m for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which funds home adaptations such as stairlifts, ramps, accessible bathrooms, and assistive technologies, bringing total available funding to£761m for 2025-26.

However, speaking to Complex Care Management, Sally Burlington, chief executive of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), warned that ‘the reality is it’s impact will be limited without also investing in occupational therapy support’.

She added: “Our members tell us that occupational therapy services who are administering the grant still face multiple challenges such as increasing demand, lengthy administration processes including unnecessarily-lengthy paperwork, restrictions on what the money can be spent on, and limits to how much can be spent per person meaning local authorities can’t support people quickly enough with this grant.

“As a matter of urgency, we ask government to review the statutory disabled facilities grant framework, complete and publish its review of the £30,000 upper limit and means test criteria, and better resource occupational therapy to ensure the grant can go further to improve people’s health and wellbeing.”

Echoing her concerns, Karin Orma, director of practice and innovation at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, added: “Without urgent investment in occupational therapists too, people risk waiting longer for expert assessments,which means people can get the changes they need to make their homes safe and accessible.

“Without occupational therapists, the right support can’t reach the people who need it most, when they need it.

“Disabled people deserve timely, tailored support that will help them live the lives they want, which means more than just money.”

The DFG supports around 60,000 older people and people with disabilities each year,with an average grant of around £10,000.

Announcing the additional capital, Minister of State for Care, Stephen Kinnock, said: “Home adaptations play a crucial role in easing pressure on our NHS, preventing falls, speeding up hospital discharges, and reducing admissions.

“This investment is part of our commitment to shift more care out of hospital and into the community, where people want to be.”