A VETERAN who served our country and now lives with Parkinson's disease waited months for Ocean Housing to agree to a simple bathroom adaptation; a change that would allow him to wash himself with dignity, without relying on the over-bath shower he can no longer access. The work was being funded and fitted by the veterans’ charity SSAFA.

Despite repeated emails and calls from the veteran, his wife and their SSAFA representative since July, Ocean Housing did not reply.

With the funding deadline just hours away, and the risk of losing it entirely, I wrote to Ocean Housing, clearly setting out their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants. Within hours, we received a positive response: permission granted, the work could now proceed.

This is what happens when a tenant is ignored for months. It should never take a councillor’s intervention at the eleventh hour to secure basic dignity for a veteran who has already given so much. Ocean Housing must do better.

If you are an Ocean Housing tenant, or any other housing association for that matter and experiencing any difficulties with your landlord, please don’t suffer alone; Reform UK is here for you. Reach out to us and we will connect you with your local Reform UK Cornwall councillor.

• In response to Cllr Cunningham’s comments, the executive director of property services for Ocean Housing, Surjit Balu said: “Ocean Housing aims to provide all our tenants with a home that is warm, comfortable and a place where people can enjoy their independence. We understand at times, some of our tenants may need additional support or adaptations to their home, to help them maintain their independence. Working with our tenants, partner agencies and charities are some of the ways we deliver on these aims.

“For the benefit of our tenant, in trying to explore alternative options for the adaption works to be delivered, we accept this resulted in delays. We can confirm approval for the adaptation work was given on February 18. We value greatly the commitments of all our veterans. We apologise for the delay in reaching a decision and the inconvenience caused on this occasion. If tenants experience delays or are unhappy with any aspect of our service, they can contact us directly or use our complaints process.”