The grant system has had a few slight changes made to it in the last year; the grant application form now requires you to give more information about your vehicle and yourself.

The new information is required because the NABD are now giving more grants than ever before, the idea of the grant system is to enable disabled people to get on the road, not have the vehicle sitting unused.

The new information required is;

I/. The MOT certificate number, this is needed to show the National Committee that the vehicle that is to be adapted, is able to be used on the road once the adaption is completed, (vehicles under 3 years old are exempt). If you are having a bike triked, you will need a new MOT.

2/. Whether you hold a full UK license, as we do get people applying for a grant to adapt a bike over 125cc, when they have not passed their test yet. You can still have a bike under 125cc adapted without a full licence.

3/. We also need to know if you are a 'full time' wheelchair user, the larger grants are mainly used for this type of disability, as they require more complex adaptions. (This does not mean you can't apply for a maximum grant of £1,200.00 if you do not use a wheelchair, as every grant application is judged on its own merits).

4/. The National Committee also need to know the estimated value, the make, model and the reg plate number of the vehicle you are having adapted. The NABD do not means test, but all the information helps us to come to a fair and balanced decision.

The national committee makes its decisions on the information you provide in your application. You may not necessarily get the full amount of grant you apply for, as this depends on your circumstances and the criteria used to award grants. But if you are not happy with the decision made by the national committee, you can appeal by writing to the chairman.

There is one last change and this effects the 'six-month rule'. In essence the six months rule states that once a grant is agreed by the national committee, the grant will only be available for a period of six months. In the past the National Committee has not always enforced this rule and this has led to some adaptions taking years rather than months. Now that we are awarding more and more grants, it does not seem fair that some applicants should have to wait for a grant, while others who have had a grant agreed do not use the funds available to them. So now if your grant is not completed within six months from the grant date, you will have to re-apply to the National Committee for a renewal /new grant.

Applying for a grant is easy, either, write a letter, telephone the central office, or E-mail the adaptions officer through the web site at www.nabd.org.uk (adaptions).

Please make sure you supply your full name, address and telephone number, with a brief description of what adaptions you require. Then an application form (or info pack for non-members) will be sent out, then all you need to do is fill in the grant application form and send it back.

Whether you are doing the work yourself or having an engineer do it, you must fill in all the relevant information. If you are using an engineer, you will need a 'fixed price quote not an estimate) with NO VAT (as adaption work to vehicles for disabled people is VAT exempt), for the total price of all the work to be carried out, highlighting the cost of all parts and labour relating to the grant applied for. Also it must be on the engineer's official stationary.

No work should be started, until your grant has been approved and you have received your job reference number, as the NABD do not give retrospective grants.

We can supply certain kits as part of your grant. Applicants who give a donation covering the cost of these kits (in effect purchasing the kit) will still have to go through the grant system (This is done to justify the large discounts given to the NABD by the suppliers oft these kits).

Once the adaption work has been completed, either yourself or the engineer will need to fill in a few simple forms to show you're satisfied with the adaption work carried out. We will also require a write-up and a few photos for use in Open House magazine and other publicity material we may produce.

If you need any more information, you can contact your rep or myself, between us we should be able to give you the advice you require.