AM raps two-year wait for disabled grants pay-out (From Tivyside Advertiser)

AM raps two-year wait for disabled grants pay-out

A west Wales Assembly member has condemned Pembrokeshire County Council for “taking too long” to deliver grants to adapt facilities at home for disabled people.

Statistics released this month show it takes the authority on average 624 days to deliver grants to disabled people – nearly double the Welsh national average.

Former Pembrokeshire county councillor and regional AM Joyce Watson branded the figures as “completely unacceptable”.

“No-one should have to wait nearly two years for these adaptations to their home,” she said.

Under current conditions, a disabled person can apply for a grant of up to £36,000 for essential adaptation of their home including ramps and toilet and washing facilities.

Mrs Watson added that Pembrokeshire’s performance compared unfavourably to Carmarthenshire County Council’s which took on average 349 days – well below the national average.

“I will be writing to Pembrokeshire County Council to express my concerns, and to find out what plans are underway to improve its delivery of service.”

The county council told the Mercury it had recognised the need to improve delivery of the grants for some time and said considerable progress had been made.

Since the figures were released, the actual time was down to an average of 547 days.

A spokesman added: “We aim to continue that progress to provide better outcomes for our residents.

He also questioned the appropriateness of making comparisons across local authorities.

“Given the wide range of interpretations of this performance indicator, direct comparisons of performance should be treated with caution,” he said.