Vol. 526 No. 6
308 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will increase the adaptation grant from its current level of £14,000 to at least £25,000; his views on whether a grant of £25,000 would be more in line with the current cost of materials and labour; and if, in sanctioning this increase, he will consider payments in three stages or directly to the registered builder. [27324/00]
I have introduced significant improvements to the terms and conditions of the disabled person's grants scheme in recent years, bringing the effective maximum grant available under the scheme from £8,000 in 1998 to the current level of £14,000. The grant now covers 90% of the approved cost of the works, compared to two-thirds previously.
The improvements I have made to the terms and conditions of the scheme since coming into office have increased the effective maximum grant by 75%. The national house building cost Index, which includes only agreed wage rates and the cost of materials, increased by just 15% over the same period.
I consider it preferable in general that grants be paid directly to applicants rather than a contractor, however, where an applicant would wish a grant to be paid to the contractor this can be arranged by the applicant assigning the grant to the contractor. The grant is currently paid following inspection of the completed works to ensure that the needs of the applicant have been satisfactorily met by the works carried out. I have no proposals to change this practice. The terms and conditions of the disabled persons' grant scheme are kept under review on an ongoing basis.
