Disabled Facilities Grant and privacy

Sarah943617

Hi, I have been mooching round the forum for a while but this is the first time I have actually posted anything.

I am going through the process of having an extension built on my house through the disabled facilities grant so that my son can have a downstairs shower room. By coincidence my mother in law has also applied for a similar extension on her home to help my father in law and we have the same officer dealing with both of our cases.

The issue I have is that the officer went out to my mother in law's house last week and whilst assessing her needs told her all about the plans for my extension and how much it was going to cost - including how much extra I will have to pay towards the work. He told her it was ok to discuss it with her as we were part of the same family.

Now I dont mind so much him telling her what we are having done as I had already told her but I am a bit annoyed that he would tell her how much extra we are going to have to pay towards the work... Especially as he hadn't even told me at the time, so my first inkling that we were going to have to pay any money came via a phone call from my MIL.

When I called him I didn't mention that my MIL had told me about the extra already as I wasn't sure what to do about it at the time. Is he allowed to discuss this sort of thing with her? We may be from the same family but we live in different houses and I'm not really comfortable with her knowing all my financial business - as i'm sure she wouldn't want me to know about hers.

Just looking for your thoughts - sorry about the long post.

Sarah

LameWolf

Personally, I think that's well out of order.

Just because you're from the same family, doesn't mean you necessarily get on. You might totally loathe each other for all he knows! (I'm NOT saying that's the case with you, just that this officer doesn't know that).

I would be absolutely livid if something like this was discussed with my relatives.

Just my twopennyworth.

Sarah943617

As it happens we do get on (most of the time lol) but as you said - he doesn't know that!

My MIL doesn't want me to say anything to him as she "doesn't want to get anyone into trouble" but the more I think about it the more it irritates me. I'm just not sure how to go about complaining to him about it - all I want is for him to respect my privacy and not discuss anything to do with my case to anyone else - is it that much ask?

Sarah

sheeps68

Sarah943617 wrote: »

As it happens we do get on (most of the time lol) but as you said - he doesn't know that!

My MIL doesn't want me to say anything to him as she "doesn't want to get anyone into trouble" but the more I think about it the more it irritates me. I'm just not sure how to go about complaining to him about it - all I want is for him to respect my privacy and not discuss anything to do with my case to anyone else - is it that much ask?

Sarah

It is NOT too much to ask in fact they have broken basic data protection not to mention good practice! You must talk to them or they could give out even more sensitive information in future! For that breach in confidence you should at very least be getting a written appology if not a reducttion in cost if you decide to go with them for the work and for that I would be wondering if they could be trusted after such a basic principle was broken.

Sarah943617

I think you're right about needing to talk to them - even though I will end up in the bad books of the MIL lol. I'm not looking for any kind of financial compensation but I would like an apology and an acknowledgement that he has breached my privacy without my consent and some assurance that it wont happen again.

As it happens I have to go through them for the work as it is arranged through local social services/council and the person who blabbed to the MIL is the surveyor from the council - not the builder otherwise I would be looking at other options.

Sarah

angecull31

I would be livid if that happened when I got my work done. It really is in breach of the Data Protection act and the fact that it was your mother in law that he blabbed to it irrelevant and needs to be reported so that it won't happen again.

Just ask your MIL if she would mind the people down the street knowing how much her's is going to cost and say that, to you it really is a violation of your privacy and that it isn't so much what he told her but the fact that he told her at all. This time he told her but in reality it could quite easily have been your neighbours!!!

jackssupermum

Sarah943617 wrote: »

Hi, I have been mooching round the forum for a while but this is the first time I have actually posted anything.

I am going through the process of having an extension built on my house through the disabled facilities grant so that my son can have a downstairs shower room. By coincidence my mother in law has also applied for a similar extension on her home to help my father in law and we have the same officer dealing with both of our cases.

The issue I have is that the officer went out to my mother in law's house last week and whilst assessing her needs told her all about the plans for my extension and how much it was going to cost - including how much extra I will have to pay towards the work. He told her it was ok to discuss it with her as we were part of the same family.

Now I dont mind so much him telling her what we are having done as I had already told her but I am a bit annoyed that he would tell her how much extra we are going to have to pay towards the work... Especially as he hadn't even told me at the time, so my first inkling that we were going to have to pay any money came via a phone call from my MIL.

When I called him I didn't mention that my MIL had told me about the extra already as I wasn't sure what to do about it at the time. Is he allowed to discuss this sort of thing with her? We may be from the same family but we live in different houses and I'm not really comfortable with her knowing all my financial business - as i'm sure she wouldn't want me to know about hers.

Just looking for your thoughts - sorry about the long post.

Sarah

How have you managed to get one? i want an extention for my son, so having his room downstairs would be more beneficial to him and his disabilities but trying to get the ot to apply for the grant is like getting blood from a stone????

duchy

Councils are usually very careful about this kind of thing.
There will be a publically available code of conduct for this. It might be useful to see if it's on the council website and quote it chapter and verse
I'd be livid-it isn't anyone's business how much you're paying-and I can't understand how such specific info could "slip out" they must have been having a good old natter about you. Even if your MIL asked directly he shouldn't have told her (not saying she did....but my ex MIL would have )

Sarah943617

Hi Jackssupermum - We have gone most of the way through the process now and are just waiting for the grant to be approved and the work to start. The builder has put a tender in and the plans are sorted out though.

The way we did it was to go through the OT from the adaptations and equipment service rather than my son's 'school' OT as she was much more helpful and deals more with day to day living rather than educational aspects of his mobility. If you PM me with your local authority name I might be able to help you as not all LAs are the same. Also I don't know if it makes a difference but my son is a full time wheelchair user so has been sleeping in my dining room for years (it's a proper bedroom now though lol - we don't eat around him). Our original request was for a downstairs shower facility but we've ended up with a bedroom extension plus the shower room.

Duchy - My MIL insists she told him she didn't really want to know lol but I'm fairly sure she didn't try too hard to shut him up either. I have had a look on the website but I can't find any policies so I have just written a letter to his head of department.

Sarah