Victory For Six-Year-Old London Boy With Disabilities After Family Instruct Lawyers To Challenge Policy

The government has agreed to review the limit paid to help fund specialist adaptations to disabled people’s homes following a legal challenge by a family left unable to meet their child’s needs.

The case was brought on behalf of a six-year-old disabled child, from Tower Hamlets, London. The family live in a one-bedroom property and require an extension to provide an extra bedroom and additional space for equipment related to the child’s disability. The extension is estimated to cost up to £100,000.

However, the current limit families can receive under the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) – paid through local authorities - was set at £30,000 in 2008. Whilst local authorities have discretion to ‘top up’ this amount, in practice most try to work within the existing DFG limit, preventing many disabled people from obtaining the adaptations they need for their homes.

Family instruct specialist public law and human rights lawyers

The family, who cannot be named for legal reasons, instructed specialist public law and human rights lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to bring a High Court challenge against the limit which was set in 2008 and hasn’t increased since. This is despite a government-commissioned review in 2018 finding the average cost of extensions required by the most severely disabled adults and children were above the £30,000 limit, and recommending the limit be increased in line with inflation.

Judicial review challenge filed in the High Court

A judicial review challenge was filed in the High Court arguing that the previous government had promised to review the upper limit, but then failed to do so.

However, the case has now been settled, on the basis that the new government has agreed to begin a review of the upper limit within the next six weeks. This review will take no longer than three months and will consider the impact of the £30,000 limit on disabled people who may require adaptations costing more than this amount.

Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell say the settlement could have significant implications for disabled people who find that the current upper limit of the grant doesn’t cover the potential adaptions and extensions they need to make to their home. This includes disabled children and people with learning disabilities or autism, who are disproportionately likely to need adaptations to their homes which cost more than £30,000.

Oliver Carter is the specialist public law and human rights lawyer representing the family.

Expert Opinion

“The news that the government has accepted the upper limit of the DFG needs to be reviewed is a victory for our client but also for all disabled people in England and Wales who may need adaptations to their homes.

“The upper limit has remained unchanged for the best part of two decades despite building costs and the cost of materials spiralling. As a previous review has shown, it cannot cover the cost of extensions in many parts of the country, leaving people unable to adapt their homes to meet their needs.

“Our client and their family are just one of any number of people who cannot afford to make the changes necessary as a result of the DFG limit. Costs have risen considerably in the last 16 years and with inflation, what was a struggle to afford in 2008 is considerably harder now.

“Many families rely on these grants to fund essential changes so they can live a normal life that many of us take for granted. We’re pleased the new government has committed to this important review and we look forward to seeing the findings in due course.” Oliver Carter

The child has a range of disabilities including autism and global developmental delay.

The family’s housing association applied for a DFG in February 2023 but the extension was expected to cost in the region of £100,000 and even with the DFG, the housing association couldn’t make up the shortfall.

The government-commissioned review in 2018 showed the average cost for extensions funded by local authorities was over £30,000 in England as a whole, and over £55,000 in London. Uprating those figures for inflation since 2018 leads to average costs of over £37,000 in England and over £65,000 in London.

The 2018 review found that the drive to stay within the grant limit may affect the quality of adaptations and extensions, and acknowledged that DFG funded adaptations “could make enormous savings elsewhere in health or social care”.

The review found that complex adaptations, particularly for disabled children and young people, often cost more than the £30,000 DFG limit. It recommended that “the maximum amount of the DFG is raised in line with inflation, with a regional weighting based on building costs and an amount for professional fees”.

In December 2021, the government published a White Paper, ‘People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform’, in which it committed to increase the amount that a DFG can pay for an individual adaptation. This commitment was later dropped or de-prioritised by the previous government, leading to this judicial review challenge.

Following the government’s agreement to review the DFG upper limit, our client’s local council approved the application for a DFG to cover the full costs of the extension they need.

Parents hope decision can start to ‘change people’s lives for the better’

The child’s mum said: “Our current living arrangements are far from ideal and don’t allow us to meet our son’s specific needs. Everyone is in agreement that this extension is vital but that was no comfort or solution when the grant available doesn’t cover even half the cost.

“All those involved seem to agree that the grant limit needs to be reviewed and we hope with this settlement, that will now take place. We hope the result will enable us to move forward and put in place the extension we need to be able to care for our son at home.

“Given the grant doesn’t now cover the costs people in our situation face anywhere in the country, we know there must be many more parents in the same situation as we are. Hopefully this decision can now start to change people’s lives for the better and allow those with disabilities and their families to live with the dignity they deserve and the chance to simply live a normal life.

“Following this case and the decision by our council to approve the DFG, we’re cautiously optimistic that we can now start to see a light at the end of this and start to move forward with our lives.”

Oliver Carter, Aimee Brackfield and Sarika Sandhu of the Public Law and Human Rights team at Irwin Mitchell acted for the family. Jamie Burton KC and Daniel Clarke, barristers of Doughty Street Chambers, were also instructed to represent the family.

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