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.