Research carried out by the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability shows that Enfield Council is failing to fulfil its obligation to provide timely help to disabled people who need to make adjustments to their flats or houses.
Under a 1996 law all councils are obliged to provide Disabled Facilities Grants to all people who apply and are are qualified within twelve months. In Enfield there are currently 155 people who are waiting for a disabled-friendly home - which will either require adaptations to their current home or a move to a suitable flat or house.
However, the charity points out that this is by no means a problem confined to Enfield. In fact, two thirds of local authorities are failing in this duty and nationally there are 300,000 disabled people trapped in unsuitable homes.
Since 2011/12 demand for the grants has been growing at twice the rate at which councils have been able to meet it.
In a new report, The Long Wait for a Home, Leonard Cheshire Disability call on both local and national government to provide more funds. They also say that all new homes should be built to Lifetime Homes standards, which make it possible to make adaptations cheaply and easily when required.
More information and the full report are available on the Leonard Cheshire website.
