AQW 45757/22-27

Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley

Tabled Date: 07/05/2026
Answered On Date: 03/08/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT)-owned respite facilities, or host families providing respite care, that have received funding through the Disabled Facilities Grant Scheme, in the last two years, to support adaptations for respite provision, including the amount of funding allocated, broken down by HSCT.

Answer:

Disabled Facilities Grants are means-tested grants administered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) on behalf of the Department for Communities (DfC). The scheme provides financial assistance to disabled homeowners, private tenants and landlords to undertake major adaptations to private dwellings, such as stairlifts, wet rooms and access ramps, to improve accessibility, safety and independent living.

While Health and Social Care Trust Occupational Therapists support access to the scheme through assessment of need and recommendations for appropriate adaptations, responsibility for administering DFGs, including the holding of funding and expenditure data, rests with the NIHE rather than the Department of Health or HSCTs.

Eligibility for DFG funding is limited to owner-occupiers, private tenants and landlords. HSCT-owned respite facilities are not eligible for DFG funding. Similarly, the scheme is intended to support adaptations to private homes and does not provide a specific funding stream for HSCT facilities or host family respite provision.

Consequently, no HSCT-owned respite facilities, or host families providing respite care, have received funding through the DFG scheme during the last two years. Therefore, the amount of DFG funding allocated for these purposes, including any breakdown by HSCT, is nil.

As my Department does not routinely collect information on DFG expenditure in relation to respite provision, any further information relating to DFG funding is likely to be held by the DfC and/or the NIHE.