Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Accepted
Provide new burdens funding to local authorities for additional accessibility requirements and duties.
Recommendation
The Government should provide funding, in line with the new burdens doctrine, to local authorities to ensure that they can carry out these additional requirements and duties to the best of their ability. (Paragraph 43) Adapting homes: the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the DFG allocation formula is outdated and commits to reviewing how DFG funding is allocated to local authorities, proposing to consult on a new formula during 2025 with the aim to adopt a new approach as soon as possible.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
23. As part of this government’s commitment to resetting the relationship with local government, we want to reduce the level of burdensome reporting requirements on local authorities, and so we do not intend to require this new data collection. 24. This government is committed to putting in place an approach to local government funding which enables local authorities across the country to provide the high-quality services that people rely on every day. The December 2024 provisional Local Government Finance Settlement has provided an additional £69 billion to local authorities in the next financial year, a real-terms increase of 3.5% from 2024–25. Should new burdens be placed onto local authorities, these will of course be assessed and any net additional costs will be fully funded, in accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine. Adapting homes: the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) LUHC Select Committee Report conclusion: The Government-commissioned External Review of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) in 2018 made several appropriate and valuable recommendations on DFG funding, eligibility, and the delivery process, based on comprehensive evidence. It is therefore deeply disappointing that the Government has not published a response to the Review and has not acted upon its main findings, despite prolonged calls for it to do so.
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