and have been told that 'light fittings and lampshades are not provided, as these are covered by the (much-reduced disturbance) allowance...' Can anyone confirm this?
This is true, DIO no longer provide lampshades/lightfittings. But I'm not sure that DA is actually for covering the cost as such. They simply don't provide any more. And to be fair they've always been pretty sh1te anyway.