My client would like a stairlift installed to her home. I'm aware that Community Care Grant can cover minor repairs and improvements, so wondered if anyone had experience of claiming for one ?

Thanks in advance.

I recently went to the IRS on review for one of these and was knocked back. A stairlift is not an excluded item by the way.

The issue turned on the following passage: -

“Section 140(l)(c) of the Contributionns and Benefits Act states that ‘in determining whether to make an award to the applicant or the amount or value to be awarded a social fund officer shall have regard, subject to subsection (2) below, to all the circumstances of the case and, in particular— the possibility that some other person or body may wholly or partly meet it’”.

SF guidance says that SFO’s should check with LA’s to see if they have statutory duties or discretionary powers to provide assistance. If there is a statutory duty then the CCG is likely to be refused. If there is a discretionary power only then all the individual circumstances need to be investigated further”.

Because my client had asked Social Services for an assessment then she fell foul of section 140 even though I argued that there was no guarantee of the stairlift being assessed as needed or even if it was, then in our area there is a 1-2 year waiting list.

The problem is the looseness of the language of the section, i.e. “the possibility that some other person or body may wholly or partly meet it”. In other words because a stairlift is something that local authorities are empowered to provide under community care law then the SFO and SFI would not award my client a CCG for one.

I argued that only after the item was assessed as needed was there a statutory duty to provide. The LA might have had a statutory duty to assess but might not have agreed with the need. This would not be conclusive as to actual need as an LA can take its resources into account in deciding whether to provide an item while carrying out the assessment. There may also be conflicting medical evidence.

It is only after the item is assessed as needed that the LA cannot take its resources into account. Thus, I argued, there was not a statutory right to a stairlift and in the circumstances of my client’s case (delay in the LA providing the item, her frailty, her age and the seriousness of her conditions) an award should be made. My arguments fell on deaf ears.

Thanks Nevip for your reply - much appreciated.

So the problem I'm likely to face is not that a stairlift is an an excluded item, its that the LA "may meet this need". Unfortunately, the situation here is Birmingham is very similar in that even if the LA agrees do the work, my client would be on the waiting list for years first.

Thanks again for sharing your case (even if was ultimately unsuccessful).

If a client is on a means tested benefit or on income just above those levels and none or little savings then I often advise them to claim Disabled Facilities Grants. For sure, these can take time also but are quicker than Social Services.

The client (or advocate) must be prepared to push however. The "Housing Authority which is not itself a Social Services Authority" must consult with Social Services (section 24(3) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996).

In practice they often tell the claimant to go off and get an OT assessment. This might not be strictly lawful, particularly where there is a delay in OT carrying out the assessment, as decisions on claims must be made within 6 months (section 34).

If delays are endemic leading to decisions within 6 months only, or largely, being negative ones then the Housing Authority might be amenable to judicial review on grounds of unreasonable delay.

The correct route for providing a stair lift is via a LA assessment of your clients needs. The matter of an unacceptable delay in implementing the findings of the assessment is another issue to be addressed by making representations to the LA; The Disability Discrimination Act must have some input here. The installation of a stair lift will be contracted out by the LA to an approved installer. Is the delay due to the contactor, or due to the LA funding, or some other reason?

Local Home Improvement Agency, Care & Repair, may be able to help. Contact them at -

Black Country Housing Group Limited
134 High Street,
Blackheath,
West Midlands.
B65 0EE

tel: 0121 561 1969 (main switchboard)
fax: 0121 561 5694

Home Improvement Agencies offer advice and assistance with all types of adaptations for older people or people with disabilities.

Shona