Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help people with mobility issues to find properties that meet their needs.

Government policy, as put in place by my Department, provides a clear and robust framework to support the delivery of accessible housing in England. My Department has strengthened national planning policy so that local planning authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people and local planning authorities can require higher access standards for new homes where this is justified. Two optional standards were introduced in Part M of the Building Regulations in October 2015 – higher standards for accessible and adaptable housing and wheelchair accessible homes.

Through the Localism Act 2011 we have retained the statutory reasonable preference requirements which ensure that people with disabilities are given priority for social housing. We grant fund new supply of supported housing for vulnerable people, which can include those with mobility issues. In addition, in England, Disabled Facilities Grant funding to local authorities can contribute towards meeting the cost of adapting a person’s home, including for people with mobility challenges - since 2015 funding for the grant has more than doubled, rising from £220 million in 2015/16 to £505 million in 2019/20.