A COUNTY-wide scheme to help disabled people be more independent in their own homes has been a success across Weymouth and Portland and West Dorset despite some teething problems, councillors were told.

Officers told a meeting of the borough council’s management committee that issues encountered by Millbrook Healthcare Ltd, awarded the contract to deliver the Dorset Accessible Homes Service (DAHS) was ‘nothing we wouldn’t expect’.

And Millbrook director Lee Davies attended a West Dorset District Council executive committee meeting to explain the issues.

It provides home improvement services, a telephone service and two independent living centres. It is commissioned by Dorset County Council, with each district and borough council paying £30,000 a year to cover costs.

Mr Davies said: “The service that was handed across had a significant countywide backlog. Millbrook needed to do a transformation and change the way the service is processed and operated.

“The teething problems have now been worked through and we are confident, as is the county council, that the service will soon bear the fruit of all the hard work undertaken within the initial implementation phase.”

Mr Davies assured councillors there is now a ‘robust management system’ in place.

Chairing the district council executive committee meeting, Cllr Anthony Alford thanked Mr Davies for attending.

A report presented to the borough council management committee stated that the DAHS is saving Weymouth and Portland Borough the council thousands.

Council capital was used to ‘top up’ funds for disabled facilities grants (DFG) to the tune of more than £132,000 in the financial year 2013/14. In 2014/15, when the new scheme was rolled out, that figure was £2,483.

Cllr Mike Byatt said the report was good news financially, but he is concerned some people are not getting the level of support or home adaptations they need.

He said: “People who want to live independently must be given support to do that.”

Officers said if someone makes an application and meets financial criteria, the council must make the home adaptations.

If grants are not available, those who own their own homes are able to take out loans to cover the cost, of adaptations which are repayable when the property is sold. But some homeowners are reluctant to do this and put off having adaptations done until their only option is residential care.

While the committee voted to note the report, Cllr Ray Nowak said they should ‘keep an eye’ on admin costs to ensure they are reasonable.

“When other people are spending our money they may not be quite so careful as we are.”