Supporting our most vulnerable to live in their own homes.

SCHEME OF ASSISTANCE

Delivery of Care and Repair, Small Repairs and Home Support, Food Train At Home and Dementia Friendly Design services come under Dumfries and Galloway Council’s ‘Scheme of Assistance’ which provides support to property owners, and tenants, when carrying out work to improve the quality of private housing. These services help to maintain older and vulnerable people’s ability to live independently at home while ensuring they receive the care and support they require.

Members of the Council’s Economy and resources Committee (17^th March) will be asked to agree to recommend to Full Council:

• An allocation of £948,000 to the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board to support the ongoing delivery of the Care and Repair service for 2022/23. The service provides grants for mandatory, and discretionary, housing adaptations for people with disabilities in the private housing sector. These awards help maintain people’s independence at home for as long as possible. The typical adaptations carried out include wet floor/level access showers, external ramps and stairlifts.
• An allocation of £149k to the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board to fund the Small Repairs and Home Support Services. This service is currently carried out by the HandyVan, a region wide service focussed on the provision of minor adaptations for vulnerable people, who meet the published referral criteria, to promote independent living. These include plumbing repairs, home security, installing grab rails, smoke alarms, gutter cleaning and draught proofing. The ‘HandyVan’ also obtain necessary authorisations for works, recruit, train and support volunteers.
• An allocation of £15k to the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board to fund the Dementia Friendly Design Project. Examples of the work carried out include replacing solid kitchen cupboard doors with glass doors enabling the householder to see the contents and also works to prevent falls in the home. Simple changes to the home environment for people living with dementia can prevent the need for much more costly placements in residential care.
• An allocation of £37,400 to the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board to fund Food Train At Home. This service normally helps older people with small household jobs that do not require skilled trades. This includes work such as smoke alarm checks, light bulb changing, duvet changing and freezer defrosting. Volunteers who deliver Food Train services, such as shopping and befriending, also support older people across the region with these minor jobs.
• An allocation of £35k to support the sustained development of the Trusted Trader scheme. The Trusted Trader Scheme, now in its seventh year, continues to be highly successful in assisting homeowners in this region identify suitable tradespeople. The traders are reviewed by customers as well as checked and monitored by the Council to make sure they are trading appropriately.

Archie Dryburgh, Vice Chair of Economy and resources Committee said: “The Scheme of Assistance is a very important provision, enabling people to remain independent in their own homes. This has the added benefit of freeing up residential care services and pressures on our NHS. The Council will continue to work alongside the IJB, local businesses and charities to support our elderly population and to continue to provide vital services to vulnerable people living in this region. Providing Members agree to these allocations, this funding will go towards vital adaptations for those who need it most.”

ENDS