Safety-Net Grant: Protect People at Risk from Housing Disrepair in Wales

Issue: Mrs Thomas self-referred to Care & Repair because of problems with her lighting. When we completed the Healthy Homes Check the caseworker found that the wiring was very old and in very poor condition. The fuse board had scorch marks around the fuses, large consuming appliances could not be used together, and the first-floor lights were not working. The condition of the wiring was a Category 1 hazard and presented a fire risk.

Intervention: Care & Repair sourced an electrician from our Safe Contractor List who recommended a full rewire. The caseworker spent time trying to source grant funding for this work, but none was available. Eventually the caseworker accessed £2,500 of benevolent funding through SSAFA (the Armed Forces charity).

Outcome: The total cost quoted for the rewire was £3,360 meaning there was a shortfall of £860 to complete this work. Client left living in unsafe property.

Impact of a Safety-Net Grant: In this instance, the Safety-Net Grant would act as a ‘top up’ to enable works to go ahead. With proper electrics, Mrs Thomas would also be able to benefit from energy efficiency interventions such as the Warm Homes Programme. The caseworker’s time and effort would have been used more efficiently as it would have resulted in a positive outcome.

Issue: Mrs Williams lives alone in a former Local Authority 1970s terraced house on an estate of similar homes. She contacted Care & Repair for advice on roof repairs. Mrs Williams had recently been widowed and was struggling to manage things that her husband had previously taken care of, such and house and garden maintenance.

When the caseworker visited, it was clear that Mrs Williams was very overwhelmed. She had noticed a damp patch on the ceiling in her bedroom and was worried about the cost and practicalities of arranging a repair.

Mrs Williams was on a low income as she received a small works pension on top of her state pension. The cost of her husband’s funeral had cost more than she thought and she now had less than £4,000 in savings.

Intervention: The caseworker obtained a quote to replace the lead flashing to the affected area of roof. Care & Repair sourced a contractor to carry out the repair from our Trusted Contractor list. However, whilst this repair was being undertaken the contractor cut away part of the ceiling to repair the water damage, they found that the existing row of bottom felt did not have any lap, and rainwater was getting in and running straight down through the felt and onto the ceiling. Additional quotes had to be sourced.

Outcome: The caseworker also helped Mrs Williams to maximise her income by applying for Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit. These applications were successful and increased Mrs Williams’ income by £100 a week – over £5,200 per annum. The caseworker was able to raise the benevolent funding required to replace the lead flashing.

Funding to cover the cost of the additional damage found took additional a long time to source. The work was quoted for just over £2,000. The caseworker made applications to several benevolent charities, including niche examples specifically for women and trade charities. This took additional time as the caseworker had to work with Mrs Williams to obtain proof of her pervious employments.

The second works were completed three years after Mrs Williams first contacted Care & Repair. Mrs Williams lived with a hole in her bedroom ceiling for two years, instead sleeping in the spare room.

Impact of a Safety-Net Grant: More efficient use of caseworker time; quicker resolution of case.

Damaged flooring posing a falls risk for Mr and Mrs Howell

The rotting support beams in the cellar that threatened to give way. These were supported by Acrow props fitted by Care & Repair.

Issue: Mr and Mrs Howell live in owner-occupied property in Wrexham. Both have health conditions. Mr Howell is living with terminal cancer and Mrs Howell has several mental and physical health conditions. They initially contacted Care & Repair because of issues outside the property, including a new garden path. A Health Home Check conducted by our trained Caseworker found several other urgent problems including a leaking toilet directly above the kitchen and a rotten, structurally unsafe kitchen floor below. The kitchen floor posed risk of collapse into the open cellar below and was a serious hazard to Mr and Mrs Howell.  

Intervention: Care & Repair arranged for temporary Acrow props to support the timber beams of the kitchen floor to make the property safe from collapse. The floor structure repair cost was estimated at around £1,000 and the funds for this and to fix the toilet leak were raised through an application to a local hardship fund.

Outcome: The toilet no longer leaks and is more sanitary. The floor will not collapse and can now be walked upon. However, funding was exhausted on these repairs and the other repairs that the clients had originally requested help with (including a broken garden path and rotten windows) could not be completed.    

Impact of a Safety-Net Grant: The Safety-Net Grant would enable all of the necessary works to be completed to prevent further risk to the clients’ health. Clients would not be left in a position where some repairs could not be completed, with the risk that, left unresolved, minor wear and tear could become hazardous disrepair and require more time and expense to resolve. The Safety-Net Grant would also be a more efficient use of caseworker time as the caseworker would not be required to spend extensive amounts of time making applications to local hardship funds and trying to source benevolent funding without any guarantee of a positive outcome.