Handicare 1100 Stairlift image
Handicare 1100 Stairlift

Lancashire County Council will no longer coordinate stairlift installation and repairs in Lancashire residents’ homes as it is shifting responsibility to district authorities before the end of the year.

As seen in the Chorley Guardian, a report to Preston City Council’s cabinet outlining the reason for these changes said that the county council could no longer justify the staff resource involved in managing the stairlift contract.

Previously, Lancashire County Council established and managed stairlift contracts across Lancashire, with funding for contracts coming from Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), handed out by local councils to residents requiring adaptations to their homes.

Now, the 12 councils in the area covered by County Hall in Lancashire, including Preston City Council, Chorley Council and South Ribble Borough Council, will have to secure their own stairlift suppliers from December onwards due to the shift in responsibility.

Lancashire residents in need of stairlifts and other vital home adaptations have been reassured by the county council that they should not see any difference in how the stairlift service is delivered.

In a statement, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for adult services Graham Gooch said: “We consulted with district councils and decided to implement this change because it was felt they were better placed to manage procurement of stair lifts and other equipment provided as part of the disabled facilities grant.

“However, we are delaying handing procurement of this equipment to district councils until December this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.”

All district councils in Lancashire will now have to undertake their own procurement process for new stairlift contracts for their local area.

Preston City Council is inviting bids for a five-year contract worth around £320,000, which includes the provision of through-the-floor lifts.

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