How West Suffolk is helping support independent living

West Suffolk Council was in the top three per cent of authorities in the country for how quickly it awarded Disabled Facilities Grants in 2022/2023. That year the average wait from a full grant application to approval was four days and the average completion after that was 49 days. That was against a national average of 30 days for approval and another 95 days for completion.

Since then, West Suffolk has got even quicker. In the first half of this financial year, the average wait to approve a grant was just three days and the average wait from then until the work was completed was 35 days.

The work is a key component of the council’s Housing, Homelessness Reduction and Rough Sleeping Strategy which is due to be discussed by Council on 19 November.

“For residents it’s about improving their quality of life and supporting them so they can carry on living in their own home which is often better for their health and wellbeing. It is also about providing dignity and choice. The work means they are less likely to have to go into care or be admitted to hospital, which reduces the impact on health and social care costs and frees up critical bedspaces,” said Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, Cabinet Member for Housing at West Suffolk Council.