Care and repair services help older and disabled owner-occupiers, tenants of private landlords and crofters to repair, improve and adapt their homes. They do this by helping people to decide what work is required, choose reliable tradesmen, obtain finance and oversee the work. Small repairs services may also be available.
Adequately funding care and repair services is a requirement of the Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) that each local authority receives from the Scottish Government. Most local authorities use this funding together with their own contribution to pay a managing agent such as a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) to establish and run a local care and repair project.
East Ayrshire Care and Repair Service
East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership is pleased to announce that we have renewed our contract with Shire Housing Association to provide the residents of East Ayrshire with the Care and Repair service for a further three years.
The service is designed to provide practical advice and access to funding to assist qualifying residents to improve, maintain and adapt their homes and to assist with discharging NHS patients from hospital (where adaptations to their home are needed).
Our Care and Repair team can offer information and advice, including help with completing grant application forms, and arrange for small repairs and minor adaptations to be carried out in the homes of qualifying persons. These services help older and disabled owners make their homes safer and, in turn, these measures should help prevent admissions to hospital as a result of accidents.
The renewal of this contract builds on the strong relationships already in place between the two organisations and will further improve the assistance and advice available to the residents of East Ayrshire, particularly the elderly and disabled who can find it difficult to carry out small repairs and minor adaptations to their homes.
The aim of the project is to carry out works, and offer information and advice, including help with completing grant application forms, to help older and disabled owners make their homes safer. In turn, these measures should help prevent admissions to hospital, as a result of accidents.
The project is also designed to assist clients in hospital get back into their own homes, through the provision of works in the home to make them suitable for their return. In addition, the project provides a small repair service to older and disabled owners, and operates an approved contractor list.
East Ayrshire Care and Repair is a free and confidential client-orientated service available to owner occupiers and private tenants who are over 60 years of age or have a disability, and live in East Ayrshire. Individuals under sixty years of age with a disability are also eligible for assistance. These groups may also include private tenants where the eligible works required do not form part of the landlord's responsibilities under the tenancy agreement.
Our Care and Repair officer will carry out a free home visit to discuss possible works needed in the home, or to offer information and advice about the care and repair service.
The project can help by:
- offering free information and advice about the service
- commissioning surveys or drawings to be prepared
- obtaining competitive quotations for works from contractors, using our approved contractor list, which covers all trades
- assisting with sourcing and completing grant application forms
- supervising, and inspecting all works through to completion
- approaching other agencies who may be able to help
- offering help through the small repair service which is available to carry out the everyday jobs that are too small to qualify for housing grants
To arrange an appointment or for further information, contact the care and repair officer on the number below.