From next month the existing medical assessment process will be replaced by a housing functional assessment model.

The new model is not an assessment of a person’s condition or disability but an assessment of the need for another home that would either help stabilise a clinical condition or disability or allow a person to function more independently.

It is about the way a condition affects how the person manages at home and focuses on the person’s ability, or lack of ability, to carry out essential day-to-day tasks within their home.

The criteria used to award additional points will also change. People who already have an application under the previous scheme will retain the points that they have been awarded until there is a change in their circumstances.

A housing occupational therapist will carry out the assessment by reviewing the information the applicant has given in the new functional assessment form. If an applicant is not happy with the assessment decision, they will have the right to appeal.

The new process will be monitored and councillors will be presented with a progress report at the end of the first year.