Accessibility 
The Disabled Facilities Grant delivery guidance has been updated to contain specific guidance on Assistive Technology (ATech), including on smart home technology, as recommended by Policy Connect’s Smart Homes Commission.
We were pleased to invite officials to the evidence sessions for the Smart Homes and Independent Living Commission and to share preliminary findings from that Commission, whose report launches next month.
Working with the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, we also produced a special briefing on how assistive technology could be included in the guidance.
Those evidence sessions made clear the need for updated guidance and specific discussion of assistive technology (ATech) and smart homes technology in the guidance.
The new guidance will help the many thousands of disabled and older people who are awarded a grant every year to acquire ATech alongside wider adaptations to their homes.
It will also allow the Disabled Facilities Grant to stimulate a consumer market in ATech for independent living. It will directly shape the decision making and practice of housing and care teams.
