Consumer Reports

HouseHouse and home

Adaptations
Repairs
Help with everyday tasks
Heating & fuel bills
Domestic appliances

Adaptations

There are lots of ways to make your home easier to live in. These include grab rails, adapting your bathroom, widening a door or fitting a ramp. You can

  • See Aids and equipment for where you can go to see examples and get advice.

  • Get an assessment
    If you have a disability your local social services can arrange for an occupational therapist to visit to discuss what you may need. This is worth having as you will be able to discuss equipment that might help and allow easier ways of doing things. Assessments are free but there may be a waiting list. Your local authority may provide some of the equipment you need after the assessment and the therapist may be able to help you apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant to help towards these costs. You may have to contribute towards the cost of adaptations. How much you will have to pay will depend on your income and finances. You can get a private assessment if you can pay for it. To find a local occupational therapist who will take private clients get in touch with Independent Practice, a specialist part of the College of Occupational Therapists. They have a searchable database:

    Independent Practice
    Tel: 0800 389 4873
    www.otip.co.uk

Repairs

If you are a private tenant your landlord will be responsible for some repairs see your CAB or your local housing advice centre if you need it. Otherwise repairs can be a problem if you cannot do-it-yourself and dont have much money. Get advice and information from your local home improvement agency sometimes called Care & Repair or Staying Put. They are non-profit making and independent. They can give advice about finding the money to pay for work, finding good builders and where to go for other practical help such as for decorating and gardening. Some have 'odd job' or 'handyperson' services - people who will do small jobs for a small fee. More information from:

  • Foundations
    Bleaklow House
    Howard Town Mill
    Glossop
    Derbyshire SK13 8HT
    Tel: 01457 891909
    email: foundations@cel.co.uk
    www.foundations.uk.com

  • Elderly Accommodation Council have a database with details of services offered by all agencies in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales www.housingcare.org/search/home-improvement-agency.aspx

  • Age Concern local branches may also know of people who can carry out odd jobs. Age Concern England have a free factsheet Older home owners: Financial help with repairs and adaptations - Factsheet 13. Downloadable from here, or freephone: 0800 00 99 66

  • Local council grants department may have information about money to pay for repairs or have a list of builders

  • Upkeep
    1st Floor
    The Building Centre
    26 Store Street
    London WC1E 7BT
    Tel: 020 7631 1677
    Fax: 020 7631 1699
    Email: info@upkeep.org.uk
    www.upkeep.org.uk

    Upkeep (an independent charity that teaches people about buildings and how to look after them) have information on maintaining your home, including maintenance checks and organising building work.

  • Care & Repair England
    The Renewal Trust Business Centre
    3 Hawksworth Street
    Nottingham NG3 2EG
    Tel/Fax: 0115 950 6500
    e-mail: info@careandrepair-england.org.uk
    www.careandrepair-england.org.uk

    Provide information on repairs, handyperson services and other issues 

  • Care & Repair Forum Scotland
    135 Buchanan Street
    Suite 2.5
    Glasgow
    G1 2JA
    Tel: 0141 221 9879
    Fax: 0141 221 9885
    www.careandrepairscotland.co.uk

  • Care & Repair Cymru
    Norbury House
    Norbury Road
    Fairwater
    Cardiff CF5 3AS
    Tel: 029 2057 6286
    Fax: 029 2057 6283
    E-mail: enquiries@careandrepair.org.uk
    www.careandrepair.org.uk 

 

 Similar services are provided in Northern Ireland by

  • Fold
    3-7 Reburn Square
    Holywood
    Co Down BT18 9HZ
    Tel: 028 90428314

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Help with everyday tasks

There are many ways of altering your home to make it easier - see Adaptations above - and a huge range of equipment to help you.  You may need the kind of help that only a person can give.

Nursing care and specialist services
Such as chiropody, advice on continence and physiotherapy are provided through the community health services so contact your GP for details. Also see Health information.

Personal care
This means help with things like dressing, getting ready for bed, washing and bathing. Some local authorities now provide more severely disabled people with an independent budget which is often used to employ personal assistants. You can also buy nursing, medical and personal care services privately [internal link]

Home help and domestic tasks
Many people need help with housework. Ask your social services what they offer, although there are fewer home helps than there used to be. Charities and agencies also provide home helps that you may have to pay, but may be able to get help towards the cost from social services as part of a direct payment or individual budget. If you cannot manage the laundry or are incontinent your local authority may have a laundry service. Meals on wheels may deliver hot ready to eat meals to you, or deliver frozen meals which you heat up. 

Getting help from local authorities
Ask your social services for an assessment. This is worth having as you will be able to discuss what you need with an expert who knows what is possible and what services are available. If you meet the councils criteria they may provide what you need. You may have to pay some or all of the costs of your care - policies vary from area to area. If you do have to pay they will ask questions about your finances to work out how much.

Direct payments
The way they provide services also varies from place to place. Sometimes these are provided by social services staff and sometimes by specialist agencies. Some now have a system of direct payments where you get a sum of money and buy the services you need. This gives you more direct choice, but you have to show that the money has been spent to achieve the outcomes you have agreed. 

Buying personal services privately
You can pay for services privately. These are provided by nursing and domiciliary care agencies. To find out what is available locally:

  • In England, all agencies have to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Go to them to find a list of agencies in your area, and to see their inspection reports and ratings:

    Care Quality Commission     
    National Correspondence
    Citygate
    Gallowgate
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 4WH
    Tel: 03000 616161
    Email:enquiries@cqc.org.uk 
    www.cqc.org.uk

    In Scotland, contact the Scottish commission for the regulation of care
    Helpline: 0845 603 0890 www.carecommission.com. In Wales, contact the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
    www.csiw.wales.gov.uk

  • Agencies are also listed in Yellow Pages under Employment Agencies and Consultants and Nurses Agencies and Care Agencies. You can find these services through one of the commercial agencies such as Bupa www.bupa.co.uk/personal/, Private Health www.privatehealth.co.uk, or use web searches to find the private service you want.

Heating & fuel bills

Heating your home is a major expense. Here's where to go for information.

  • Directgov has tips on keeping warm at home http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/keepwarmkeepwell/keepwarm.html

  • The Home Heat helpline has free and practical advice for people who are worried about paying their fuel bills. 
    Tel: 0800 33 66 99
    Text: 0800 027 2122
    www.homeheathelpline.org

  • Local authorities may have an advice service, and they may have grants towards the cost of making your home energy efficient. Contact them for details.

  • Winter Fuel Payment. If you are aged 60 or over and normally live in the UK, you should automatically get a Winter Fuel Payment towards the cost of keeping warm. Last winter the amount paid was £250 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £400 for households with someone aged 80 or over. It's usually paid automatically. But if you have not been paid, check with the pension service that you qualify. You can download an application form. Or phone the Helpline.
    www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/winterfuel/how-do-i-get-it.asp 
    Helplines: 08459 15 15 15:
    Textphone: 0845 601 5613.

  • Warm Front and Warm Deal. You can get help with heating costs from Government schemes. You may be able to get a grant towards better insulation and heating improvements through the Warm Front scheme in England and Wales and the Warm Deal scheme in Scotland. These grants can cover such things as fitting better controls or installing central heating. You will also get useful advice on using energy wisely. To be eligible you have to be getting one of a list of benefits. The maximum grant is £2,700 or up to £4,000 if your home needs oil central heating. For Information on how you qualify 
    www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018661.  
    www.warmfront.co.uk/ or
    Freephone: 0800 316 2805
    Text: 0800 072 0156

  • The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Wales) has details of who qualifies and what you can get in Wales, and has an application form 
    www.heeswales.co.uk/do-i-qualify.htm. The maximum grant is £3,600.

  • The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (Scotland) The scheme is managed by Scottish Gas. Details of who qualifies and what you can get in 
    www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/access/FP/Warmdeal. 
    Freepost
    SCO 4421
    Edinburgh, EH6 0BR
    Tel: 08900 316 6009 for details. 
    There is also a central heating programme in Scotland that helps people who dont have central heating or have an inadequate or inefficient system. Information from Scottish Gas, Tel 0800 316 1653

  • Warm Homes scheme in Northern Ireland has grants for insulation (up to £850) and for heating and insulation (up to £4,300). Warm Homes Plus provides additional help for people aged 60 or over who do not have heat Economy 7 or who have a solid fuel system. For more information and to apply contact EAGA at 0800 181 667 or see their website. www.eaga.com/government_contracts/warmerhomes.htm

  • Energy Savings Trust have a website you can search for help with cost savings. It will tell you what grants or offers are available in your area for insulation and draught proofing, heating, energy efficient appliances and energy saving light bulbs.
    www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/2019/grantsandofferssearch 

  • Switching energy supplier may save you money. It's very easy to do and you can find information and make the switch by going to one of several websites:
    Consumer focus: www.consumerfocus.org.uk/en/content/cms/Energy_Help___Advice/Helping_Households/How_to_change_suppli/How_to_change_suppli.aspx
    This is money:  www.energyhelpline.com,
    Switch with Which?:  www.switchwithwhich.co.uk
    You Switch:  www.uswitch.com

Domestic appliances

Easy to use appliances are part of being independent. All too often controls are difficult to grip, hard to set and labels and instructions are difficult to read. We've produced simple what to look for guides for all major appliances. Try to find a shop with a wide selection on show, and use these lists to find the appliance that suits you best. Those we have covered are:

 

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