Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

B61. The housing authority must be satisfied that the relevant works are necessary and appropriate to meet the needs of the disabled person (section 24(3)(a)). For district councils this must include consulting the social services authority.

B62. DFGs are designed to give disabled people a degree of independence in the home and should aim to meet current and anticipated future needs. If the disabled person has care needs, the impact of adaptations on the level of this care should be considered including whether tasks will be reduced or eased. Adaptation works will not achieve their objective if the disabled person does not gain an acceptable degree of independence, or where the disabled person remains dependent upon the care of others and the adaptation does not significantly ease the burden of the carer.

B65. To reduce the risk of installing inappropriate adaptations and to ensure consistency of practice, this guidance provides a set of written principles to assist professionals involved in the complex process of identifying what works are necessary and appropriate (see 4.44).

4.42 To reduce the risk of installing inappropriate adaptations, authorities should follow the 9 guiding principles identified by Heywood (2004) in her research into the needs older and disabled people consider important when being assessed:

Need to retain (or restore) dignity
Need to have values recognised
Need for relief from pain, discomfort, and danger
Need to minimise barriers to independence
Need for some element of choice
Need for good communication as part of giving choice
Need for light
Particular needs of children: to provide for growth and change; and the need for space
Needs of other family members and of the family as a whole