The number of people with disabilities waiting for more support has decreased in 2021. This is apparent from the annual report of the Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities (VAPH). In 2020 there were still 16,523 people waiting, a year later that figure had fallen to 15,918.
This decrease is mainly attributable to the strong increase in personal budgets. At the end of December 2021, the VAPH supported 27,266 people with disabilities in this way. A year earlier, there were 25,399.
In 2021, 4,026 new personal budgets were made available. That is also a significant increase compared to a year earlier, when there were 2,825 new personal budgets. In 56 percent of the cases it concerned new budget holders. In the other cases, it concerned people who already had a personal budget. This usually involves an increase in the budget or the replacement of a temporary budget by a permanent one.
Healthcare investment plan
The VAPH attributes the increase to the Healthcare Investment Plan and the investment of 107 million euros to offer all questions in the highest priority group perspective during this term of office on a personal budget. The waiting people are therefore mainly situated in priority group 2 (5,034 persons) and 3 (10,590 persons).
The number of minors supported also increased in 2021. Last year 1,522 minors received a personal assistance budget (PAB). That is an increase of just under 35%. The year before, there were still 1,129.
Perspective
Flemish Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits is satisfied. “Thanks to the large investments by the Flemish government, we have succeeded for the first time in giving all people with the highest care needs a perspective on support. They have received a budget until 2021, the others in this group can expect this within 18 months of their application. We were also able to allocate more personal assistance budgets. But the work is not finished yet, we also want to offer the other priority groups perspective.”
In total, the VAPH supported 102,438 people in 2021. Slightly less than half (45,836 people) made use of allowances for assistive devices, such as a stair or hoist or a guide dog. A quarter (28,360 people) called on directly accessible help. This is limited, easily accessible support in the form of guidance, day care or accommodation for adults or minors who occasionally need help.
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