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Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is to no longer exercise its ‘discretion’ in allowing grants of over £30,000, the maximum set by Government.
Instead, tenants will be urged to seek the rest from the West Midlands Kickstart scheme, which councils put funds into.
Three of its five loans have interest (details). It is not known whether this would apply to borough tenants under the new scheme.
George Daley, a SMBC officer who wrote a report on the scheme, told The Silhillian that arrangements would be made public this month.
The report says: “Solihull has used this discretion to pay grant above the statutory limit where an applicant has required extensive works such as a ground floor extension.
“It is now proposed to limit grant to the £30,000 cap.”
This will take affect on new applications received from Thursday.
The council says it could fund over the limit if it meant it made SMBC savings in the long run and could provide cash from a ‘hardship fund’.
The change will mean the council can ‘pursue further cost savings’ with the new organisation, the report says.
The council hopes the savings can be pumped into a new repairs and improvements body aimed at cutting waits and improving the service.
It says the new system will simplify the work process and cut waste.
At present residents can apply to the council, its housing arm, Solihull Community Housing or the NHS.
The report says there are ‘problems with the current arrangements, including long waiting times for assessment and completion of works for many customers’.
The new body, to be called Solihull Independent Living, will seek to ‘reduce the time which people have to wait for an adaptation’ it says. It is expected to start next month.
A document will be drawn up detailing what will and will not be funded – including the new cap on grants - and how the service will work.
The move was agreed by the council’s cabinet on Thursday.
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