£300k disabled facility help
JONATHAN GRIEVE
HYNDBURN council bosses agreed a £300,000 contribution to a new specialist facility for disabled adults.
Lancashire County Council is proposing to build the new £2m facility in Great Harwood and asked members in Hyndburn to approve a £300,000 payment to help fund the scheme.
The new adult residential unit will provide seven ground floor bedrooms including communal space and specialist equipment.
Hyndburn council has accumulated a £652,000 underspend over several years from its Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding and this led the county council to make an approach seeking a financial contribution of £300,000 from the underspend towards the adult accommodation unit.
DFG funding is part of the county council’s
Better Care Fund (BCF) and is distributed to the relevant councils to support disabled households to remain living as independently as possible in their own homes.
Coun Loraine Cox, cabinet member for housing, said: “The support provided through the provision of the short break units will enable carers to take a break from continued caring responsibilities which in turn will assist them to continue to provide that vital care.
“It also prevents carer breakdown which often results in care placement and will also support the placement of emergency accommodation for individuals displaying significant behavioural problems that pose a risk to themselves and others.
“Therefore the county council’s capital contribution to the adult accommodation unit supports the aims of the Better Care Fund priorities and supports individuals with disabilities to receive consistent supportive care which enables them to remain in their own homes and current caring situations.
“For this reason using the DFG underspend is an appropriate and valuable use of this funding. Lancashire County Council is also proposing to construct a similar specialist facility for disabled children at an estimated cost of £3 million on the same site.
“The council is not being asked to contribute towards the children’s unit. This means a total investment of £5 million in Great Harwood for new state of the art facilities for severely disabled households.”