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17 June 2010 – ILF protect users awards to manage within funding

The Independent Living Fund (ILF) has taken further steps necessary as care package costs rise, to protect its existing users and manage within its allocated budget for 2010-11.

In order to safeguard existing users' awards, the ILF will not be accepting any new applications for the remainder of the year, and is unable to make any further awards, except those they have already agreed to fund. The ILF will be able to help some 600 new ILF users in this financial year as a result of offers of funding already made.

The measures will ensure that the existing 21,000 ILF users' awards continue at their current level. However, the ILF cannot afford to increase individual awards above the amount already paid, other than additional support to meet some of their employer responsibilities, and in response to certain changes in their income.

Explaining the position, Patrick Boyle, ILF Chief Executive, said, "Our first priority is the 21,000 disabled people we currently support to achieve high quality independent lives. Our Trustees have acted quickly in their decision to protect this group and to meet their responsibility to manage within budget.

"We are committed to continuing and developing the excellent service we deliver to our users, allowing them greater flexibility in how they choose to manage their funding."

The ILF is writing to all applicants and existing users to make them aware of these latest steps and is continuing its dialogue with local authority partners, disabled people's organisations and others.

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Notes to editors

For more information contact David Smith on 0115 945 0730 or 07779 083493.

1. The Independent Living Fund (ILF) is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Department for Work and Pensions. It awards payments to severely disabled people to support the cost of their personal assistance, enabling them to live fully inclusive independent lives in their communities. To get payments from the ILF you have to meet certain conditions.
2. The ILF provides financial assistance under the terms of a single publicly financed discretionary Trust Deed - The Independent Living Fund (2006), governed by a Board of nine Trustees.
3. The ILF currently provides financial support to over 21,000 disabled people in the UK, and has supported over 46,000 disabled people during the last 21 years.
4. The measures taken to manage within available funding are based on an allocated budget of £348m for Great Britain and £11.2m for Northern Ireland.  
5. A full Equality Impact Assessment has been undertaken in relation to the decisions made by the ILF Trustees in relation to this decision.