To provide Cabinet with an update on the Council’s use of the Better Care Fund allocation and to seek approval of the Financial Assistance Policy for Housing, this policy being an update to the Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing that was previously approved by Cabinet in 2020.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)     notes the update on the delivery of financial assistance via the current Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing;

(b)     approves the Financial Assistance Policy for Housing, as appended; and

(c)     authorises the Corporate Director (Operations & Delivery), in consultation with the Council’s Section 151 Officer and with the Portfolio Holder with responsibility for housing, to make future amendments to the policy.

Cabinet considered a report of the Housing & Planning Portfolio Holder (A.4) which provided it with an update on the Council’s use of the Better Care Fund allocation and sought Cabinet’s approval of the Financial Assistance Policy for Housing, this policy being an update to the Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing that had been previously approved by Cabinet in 2020.

It was reported that the Council had had a Financial Assistance Policy for Private Sector Housing in place for many years with the last significant revision of the policy approved by Cabinet in 2020. Minor amendments to the policy had been made since that date via delegation.

Cabinet was informed that the policy set out how the Council would deliver the mandatory Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and other discretionary forms of financial assistance that we`re all currently funded via the Council’s allocation from the Better Care Fund (BCF). The DFG and other forms of assistance on offer funded home adaptations such as wet rooms, stairlifts and ramps and could include works to prevent hospital admissions such as replacing heating systems. In 2024/25 155 applicants had benefitted from such assistance.

Members were made aware that, in 2025/26 the Council had received an allocation of £2.879m from the BCF for spending on the DFG and other forms of discretionary assistance aimed at supporting residents to continue living independently at home and preventing hospital admissions. This funding was spent by way of awarding grants to those who applied for assistance.

Cabinet was advised that those who applied were subject to means testing in most cases and had their application approved if the work they were applying for met the criteria as set out in the policy. The applicant was then responsible for having the work undertaken and on satisfactory completion the Council would pay the grant.

In 2024/25 the Council had agreed grants totalling £1.480m. In this financial year up to November 2025 £1.426m has been agreed/committed with £2.700m worth of grants at other stages within the system.

Cabinet noted that the Council’s annual spend through the policy had for many years been lower than the BCF allocation and consequently, via the addition of amounts carried forward at the end of year, there was currently a budget of approximately £10.000m, as reported earlier in the year.

In order to better align the actual support that was made available via the policy with the annual BCF allocation (including the budgets carried forward) and therefore maximising the number of Tendring residents who could benefit it had been necessary to review the policy to identify potential amendments to meet this aim.

It was highlighted that the policy must prioritise the DFG and other forms of discretionary assistance before other potential Social Care Capital projects could be considered.

Following a review of the policy, which had included reviewing the historic reasons why residents might not have sought support or declined an offer of support, the resulting proposed revisions to the policy had been put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105