Issue - meetings

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and to make the following resolution namely that:

1)          The Project Initiation Document (PID) at Appendix 3 for Phase 3 of the Disabled Facilities Grants project be approved.

2)          The more flexible and innovative use of Disabled Facilities Grants as detailed in paragraphs 6.2 and 6.3 of the report be approved for the period of Phase 3 of this project and the Head of Housing and Environmental Services, following consultation with the Cabinet member for Housing Services, be authorised to establish and test interim policy and governance arrangements associated with the project.

3)          The reason for the exception to tender, as detailed in Appendix 4 and as required by the Council’s Contract Standing Orders be noted.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the Project Initiation Document (PID) in appendix 3 to the agenda report for Phase 3 of the Disabled Facilities Grants project be approved.

(2)  That the more flexible and innovative use of Disabled Facilities Grants as detailed in paras 6.2 and 6.3 of the agenda report for the period of Phase 3 of this project be approved and that the Head of Housing and Environmental Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Housing Services, be authorised to establish and test interim policy and governance arrangements associated with the project.

(3)  That the reason be noted for the exception to tender as detailed in appendix 4 to the agenda report and as required by Chichester District Council’s contract standing orders.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its four appendices in the agenda supplement (copies attached to the official minutes).

The report was presented by Mrs Kilby.

Mrs Rudziak was in attendance for this item.

Mrs Kilby said that disabled facilities grants (DFGs) were an important way in which CDC could help disabled people to live in their own homes safely, by providing funding for adaptations such as stair lifts, level access showers and ramps. CDC’s DFG officers worked closely with occupational therapists to understand client needs and which options would provide the best outcomes for them. In recent years the funding of DFGs had changed and upper-tier authorities such as West Sussex County Council (WSCC) now held the funds within the Better Care Fund (BCF). CDC had been underspending its allocated budget, whereas other authorities in the county had been overspending. There was also a variation across the county in how funds were allocated and in the timescales for delivery of DFGs. Accordingly a county-wide project was initiated in 2016 with the aim of helping people to live independently in their homes for longer. Phases 1 and 2 of the project had identified that there were potential gains to be had by joining up the DFG process across West Sussex and also in being more flexible and innovative in approach. This was supported by all the district and borough councils and WSCC, and was in line with current government thinking about how the BCF could best be used to deliver efficient and innovative solutions to disabled people in the communities. The report recommended that the DFG project continued to phase 3, to redesign the DFG service to deliver better outcomes for disabled people and more efficient and effective use of funds. It also requested delegated authority for Mrs Kilby and the Head of Housing and Environment Services to agree a more flexible DFG policy to allow discretionary grants during this phase of the project, to enable the project team to innovate and test various options until a county-wide policy was agreed which would be brought back to the Cabinet in due course.

Mrs Rudziak did not add to Mrs Kilby’s introduction.

Mr Dignum highlighted para 4.9 of the agenda report as being the key one. He said that the customers overall would receive a much better experience. This was a good news story from every perspective and it would be the subject of a CDC press release.

Mrs Rudziak replied to a question by Mrs Lintill about the need for CDC’s policy to cohere with the county-wide policy being developed and she confirmed that the objective was to have a single policy for the whole of West Sussex but which would adopt flexible and innovative approach and avoid any risk of a postcode lottery.

Mr Ward answered a question by Mrs Hardwick about the exception to tender form in appendix 4 (pages 45 and 46 in the agenda supplement) and who were the correct signatories in view  ...  view the full minutes text for item 405