Housing, Health And Social Care Should Be Equal
Housing services should take equal status to health and social care services under a new national strategy, a parliamentary report recommends.
The report, released on Friday (Feb 9) by the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee says the health consequences of unsuitable housing should be reflected better at local level. A national strategy for older people’s housing is needed to bring together and improve policy in this area, the committee concludes.
The committee’s report on Housing for Older People also recommends that the wider availability of housing advice and information should be central to the strategy – with the existing FirstStop Advice Service re-funded by the government to provide an expanded national telephone advice service.
The committee calls on the government to recognise the link between homes and health and social care in the social care green paper due out this summer, with the National Planning Policy Framework being amended to encourage the development of more housing for older people where councils identify a target proportion of new housing to be developed for this purpose.
Councils should also publish strategies outlining how they intend to meet the housing needs of older people in their area.
Other recommendations include:
- Additional funding for home improvement agencies operating services including a handyperson service for older people
- A range of measures to help older people overcome the barriers to moving home, including an accreditation for companies which provide tailored services for older people moving home and better customer service and guidance from lenders when applying for a mortgage
- Ensuring national and local planning policy encourages the building of more of all types of housing for older people – extra care, retirement, sheltered and accessible housing across the social and private sectors, with older people involved in the design process
- Building all new homes to accessible and adaptable standards so that they are ‘age proofed’ and can meet the current and future needs of older people.
Referencing a ‘well-evidenced link’ between housing and health and wellbeing, and the consequent costs of treatment, the report calls for greater collaboration within local authorities between planning, social care, health and housing teams, working together to assess savings to health and social care budgets which may arise from additional specialist housing. Savings, the reports says, that could be considered in the context of negotiations over planning charges.
Prevention, early intervention and promotion of health and wellbeing through housing should, the report says, be a priority for the proposed new national advice service – with a referral remit for home improvement or even direct intervention.
