Caerphilly home adaptation waits fall, but audit finds gaps

The time taken to complete a Disabled Facilities Grant in Caerphilly fell to 229 days in 2025-26, but Audit Wales says residents still face significant waits for adaptations needed to live safely at home. The report, published on 20 October, records 473 days in 2023-24 and 323 in 2024-25. Its findings describe improving performance after a backlog developed following the pandemic.

Different routes, different waits

Adaptations can include ramps, stairlifts, accessible showers and wider doorways. The audit says delays can leave people struggling with daily tasks and increase the risk of falls. The report’s Disabled Facilities Grant figures are separate from its finding that medium-scale adaptations to council homes take an average of six months or less. Those are different measures, rather than one waiting time for every kind of work. Auditors credited clear application information, assessments shaped around applicants’ needs and inspections of completed work. The council introduced a contractor framework in 2023 to increase capacity, and has moved surveyors between workloads to tackle the backlog.

Impact and future staffing

Audit Wales makes two recommendations: evaluate the impact and value for money of adaptations, and prepare a workforce plan based on current and future demand. It found the council had not set out how it would establish value for money. Understanding of future demand for children and young people was also less developed, with performance data not separated by age group. The audit’s fieldwork took place in March 2026. It reviewed documents and interviewed officers and elected members, but did not interview service users. Its figures describe the periods in the report, rather than a newly measured October waiting list.