The Buckinghamshire Council cabinet was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 19 November 2025 to discuss topics including an Education, Health and Care Plan waiting list recovery plan, and a proposal of changes to the Disability Facilities Grant and Housing Assistance Policy.

Education, Health and Care Plan Waiting List Recovery Plan

The cabinet was scheduled to discuss and approve a plan to improve Education, Health and Care plan¹ (EHCP) waiting lists.

The agenda noted that there was a statutory 20-week deadline from when an EHC Needs Assessment (EHCNA) is requested to issuing a final EHC Plan. As of 1 September 2025, 1,234 of the 1,488 children under assessment in Buckinghamshire were beyond this 20 week deadline, with the current average wait for completed plans being 47 weeks, more than double the target timescale set out in statute.

The report proposed an investment of £3 million to accelerate the EHCP assessment process and tackle the waiting lists. The agenda noted that accelerating EHCP assessments would result in additional pressure on the High Needs Block² to fund the provision identified in plans, and on the Home to School Transport budget.

The agenda stated that the council had engaged with national government through the Delivering Better Value programme and had met all the requirements as confirmed by the Department for Education (DfE), but that this programme had not met the scale of the rise in demand. It also noted that the government had pushed to an unspecified date in the future any announcement on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding reforms.

The cabinet resolved to transfer £3 million into an earmarked reserve and invest this into reducing the waiting times for providing EHCP assessments.

Disability Facilities Grant and Housing Assistance Policy

The cabinet was scheduled to discuss a proposal of changes to the Disability Facilities Grant (DFG) and Housing Assistance Policy.

The agenda stated that Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG) were delivered by the Grants & Adaptations Team within the Housing Service, in accordance with the current Housing Improvement and Adaptations Policy which was adopted in April 2020. It also noted that most of the adaptations that were carried out using DFG funds help to support residents to live independently for longer at home and reduce the need for care services or makes lives easier for family members who care for loved ones.

The Buckinghamshire Housing Improvement and Adaptation Policy had not been updated since its adoption and was currently being applied to those who approached Buckinghamshire Council to apply for assistance to keep people safe and independent at home. Since the last policy was implemented, new non-statutory guidance on delivering DFGs was published in 2022, which had driven a review of the policy to ensure it reflected current best practice.

Since 2021-22, the DFG allocation for Buckinghamshire had been £4.065 million annually and for 2025-26 it was £5.045 million. The maximum mandatory DFG was £30,000, however, as building costs had risen sharply in recent years and the complexity of need (particularly for disabled children’s adaptations) had grown, £30,000 was often inadequate to fully meet complex needs.

The agenda stated that the DFG and Housing Assistance policy set out how the council would use its discretion to provide assistance to ensure that needs could be met as well as to ensure the allocation was fully spent; the objectives of the policy looked to preventing accidents and poor health and to help people to remain living independently in their homes for as long as possible.

The cabinet resolved that the Disabled Facilities Grant and Housing Assistance Policy be approved for adoption.

Other Matters

The agenda also included the following items:

• Forward Plan (28 Day Notice)
• Select Committee Work Programme