Questions for councillors and leading officers

These questions can help both elected members and leading council officers, to ensure their services receive proper and effective scrutiny and are accountable to local people:

1. How does your council identify the unmet housing needs of Disabled people in its area when planning for housing development in the Local Plan?

2. Does your council require a proportion of new-build homes meet an accessible standard? If not, why not?

3. What training or guidance does your council provide its officers on carrying out housing needs assessments and identifying what will be necessary for any accommodation to be suitable?

4. How many homeless applicants are in unsuitable temporary accommodation?

5. How long do applicants in unsuitable temporary accommodation wait to move, on average? Is this longer for applicants with disabilities?

6. Does your council have a register of the accessible housing in its own stock (where relevant) and/or keep track of adaptations to properties owned by Registered Providers of Social Housing?

7. What is the average time taken to process and assess an application for social housing? Is this longer for applicants indicating they need to move because of a Disability or medical need?

8. How does your council ensure oversight of any third party medical advisers?

9. Does your council tell its own tenants that they can apply for a DFG?

10. Does your council provide information to applicants about the DFG process, including a single point of contact?

11. How does your council help applicants for DFGs understand the means-test?

12. How long, from initial request to completion of works, have DFG cases taken in the last six months? How does this compare to the timescales in government guidance?