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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that more homes are accessible for disabled people.

Government is committed to helping older and disabled people to live independently and safely in their own homes for as a long as possible. Since 2010, over £1 billion pounds has been provided for the Disabled Facilities Grant, funding adaptations to around 250,000 existing homes to help disabled people to live independently and safely. Funding for the grant has risen by almost 80% from £220 million in 2015-16 to £394 million in 2016-17 and will rise further to over £500 million by 2020-21.

Planning policy and Building Regulations support local authorities in meeting the new housing supply needs of disabled and older people in their communities. This includes the introduction of optional levels of accessibility in the Building Regulations which local authorities can apply to new development in their local area subject to needs and viability assessment.