A government department has refused again to provide any details that would clarify vital disability-related announcements made by George Osborne in last week’s spending review. For the second week running, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has been unable to explain exactly what the chancellor meant when he announced funding for new accessible housing, and for disabled facilities grants (DFGs). And eight days after the chancellor’s announcement, and the publication of detailed documents by the Treasury, DCLG is still refusing to comment on whether it will provide a second year’s funding to local authorities to compensate for the closure of the Independent Living Fund (ILF). ILF was funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, and when it closed on 30 June it was helping nearly 17,000 disabled people with the highest support needs to live independently. But ministers decided it should be scrapped, promising instead that nine months’ worth of non-ring-fenced
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