A BOROUGH has doubled the maximum grant its disabled residents can receive to adapt their homes.

Rossendale Council has also taken new powers to cut red tape and provide extra support.

The council's cabinet has raised the maximum disabled facilities grant a household can receive from £30,000 to £60,000.

The scheme, part-funded by the government, pays for alterations to disabled people's homes and the installation of specialist equipment.

The council has also taken steps to ease the application process and include sums for residents to be rehoused during alteration work, to replace heating and to provide care at home after discharge from hospital.

Cllr Barbara Ashworth, Rossendale Council’s health and housing boss, said: “We want to make it easier for our most vulnerable residents to receive the help and support they need to stay in their own homes."

She added: "This will make a real different to the lives of some people with disabilities."