Purpose

The current staffing structure in Waverley’s Grants
and Adaptations Team does not address the Council’s
obligations under the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG’s)
scheme for vulnerable Waverley residents. Due to a lack of staffing
resource, there is a significant service gap that has resulted in
long wait times to process grant applications.
Additionally, there has been a sustained rise in DFG
enquiries nationally and this is reflected in both our Councils due
to people living well for longer. The pressures on the NHS and
Adult Social Care have raised awareness of DFG availability and
hence applications have soared.
The current staffing structure at Waverley does not provide
sufficient capacity to manage the increased workload, leading to
extended waiting times, delayed assessments, and slower processing
of grants overall.
The proposal to increase staffing levels (2 x Grant Project
Officers, 1 x Senior Occupational Therapist) was discussed and
agreed at CMB on Monday 2nd June 2025. Details of the decision are
set out below:
1) All posts are within budget – 1 long term vacancy
and grant funding for new roles and will help WBC fulfil its
statutory obligation and Corporate Strategy priority of an
inclusive borough.
2) Recruitment to this posts will enable the Council to
improve the service it is delivering.
3) If grant funding changes or reduces, the service will
adapt to work in the budget, similar to Family Support previously.
Will operate in the model of funding.
4) The new WBC roles were considered as joint, but the
systems and separate grant funding pots do not align – and
the priority is improving this service at Waverley. This will
mirror Guildford’s resources and model.
 

Content

To recruit to three
posts within the Grants and Adaptations Team (2 x Grant Project
Officers, 1 x Senior Occupational Therapist).
 

Reasons for the decision

Increasing staffing to
facilitate the delivery of DFG’s is clear from both a service
performance perspective and financial. The current resourcing
levels are insufficient to keep pace with increasing demand,
leading to significant delays in assessment, approvals and
implementation of vital adaptations for disabled residents. This
not only affects the quality of life and independence of service
users but also creates risk of non-compliance with statutory
obligations under the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration
Act 1996. By recruiting to these posts, we can significantly
improve the services offered at Waverley Borough
Council.
 

Alternative options considered

It has been considered to not
recruit to the proposed posts and maintain the existing staffing
levels across Guildford and Waverley. However, by recruiting to
these posts we can improve the timeliness and efficiency of DFG
processing, reduce the backlog of pending cases and better utilise
the Council’s annual allocation from the Better Care Fund.
This in turn will improve services at Waverley Borough Council and
provide better outcomes for residents.