The 31-year-old wheelchair user applied to his local council for funding to build a ramp that leads to his doorway, replacing a row of stairs stacked below the door frame. When it is built, it will allow him to leave the house independently, rather than relying on his parents for assistance.
Hayden is one of thousands of disabled Scots who have applied for a funding grant to adapt their home. He still doesn’t have a ramp to enter his home, and is applying for assistance for the second time, after his first application was rejected.
Under the Scheme of Assistance, local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide funding for disabled people to adapt homes, installing the likes of ramps, stair lifts and rails in bathrooms so they are suitable for use.
But new data – obtained after a freedom of information request (Foi) was submitted by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism – has revealed that holes in the grants system are leaving thousands of disabled people at risk of being “stuck indefinitely in inadequate and inaccessible housing”.
Since 2018, more than 31,000 people have applied for adaptations to be made to their homes. The figures, taken from the records of 28 local authorities in Scotland, show that just over 12,000 installations have been completed, only a 38 per cent success rate for those who apply.
The shortfall is leaving people like Hayden living in unsuitable homes, with some living in properties without vital accessibility adaptations.
“I didn’t even get as far as approval or installation with my application,” Hayden told The Ferret. “ I was told by the council that because I bought my motorised wheelchair privately, the local council has zero obligation to accommodate me.
“I was confused. I fundraised for mine because it’s difficult to get a decent customised wheelchair via the NHS”.
Even though Hayden’s GP said he would support his application, he didn’t have any luck progressing it –“I contacted the council’s access team, and they never got back to me,” he said.
Picture: The man in the wheelchair is not the person referred to in this article.