Wheelchair accessible housing data
Need and availability of wheelchair accessible housing is being considered as part of Stirling Council’s affordable housing strategy, with almost 50 people already on the waiting list.
Council officers estimate there could be 276 households with an unmet need - with the figure expected to rise to 497 by 2024.
However, they say the Stirling figures should be “treated with caution” given they are based on national figures from 2015 drawn from other sources.
The SHIP (Stirling Housing Investment Plan), approved by the council’s environment and housing committee last Thursday, states: “There is no common housing register in Stirling which makes it difficult to accurately identify demand for wheelchair accommodation across all social housing providers.
“As of August 2019, there were 48 applicants on the council’s waiting list who required housing suitable for a wheelchair user.
“Analysis revealed that across all the local housing associations, there are 70 wheelchair units, which equates to 3.5 per cent of all RSL (Registered Social Landlord) stock.
“The council is working to improve data recording of its own stock which is suitable for wheelchair users.”
In terms of private sector stock there was said to be “very little information on wheelchair provision in this sector”. The 2011 Census identified that 74 per cent of the total housing stock in Stirling is comprised of houses/bungalows, which are generally easier to adapt to the requirements of a wheelchair user, but statistics suggest on average just seven adaptations per year completed in the private sector.
The council is developing a target and policy for wheelchair provision in light of new Scottish Government guidance.
Asked for further information about wheelchair accessible housing by SNP councillor Susan McGill, head of housing Lorna Cameron told the committee: “We had a working group looking at wheelchair accessible housing and whether a target of 10 per cent would be sufficient.
“That’s been a priority for us, not just for wheelchair users but generally accessible housing for people that might not be using a wheelchair but might have other aids to help them move around.
“All councils are struggling with the target for that. We are trying to quantify the houses we have that might be already adapted or are adaptable, but there is definitely work underway on the wheelchair accessible target.
“A report we have been using in some of the discussions, ‘Still Minding the Step’, makes recommendations about building new wheelchair accessible housing but about also having a comprehensive list of what we have already.”