Government announces £50m for the Disabled Facilities Grant: CCN responds

Today the Department for Health has announced an £50m boost to the Disabled Facilities Grant, which will be distributed to local authorities next month.

The government says that this announcement will bring total DSG funding for 2025-26 to £761 million. The DFG supports around 60,000 older people and people with disabilities each year, with an average grant of around £10,000 distributed by councils.

It comes at the start of a year when Baroness Casey's Independent Commission is due to publish its first recommendations.

Below, the County Councils Network responds.

Cllr Steven Broadbent, Vice-Chair of the County Councils Network, said:

“This £50m investment for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) will help County Councils Network members to support more residents to live safely and independently in their own homes and will relieve some immediate pressure on waiting lists.

“But this funding should be seen as a short-term boost rather than a long-term solution. Demand for home adaptations continues to rise, construction costs remain high, and councils still operate

within a system that has not kept pace with need. Without sustained increases to the DFG budget and wider reform of adult social care, councils will continue to face difficult choices and residents reliant on these adaptations will continue to face long delays for support.”