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Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, responded to the report of the Inquiry of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Care for Older People

“This report rightly acknowledges the urgent need to supply more housing for older people and the necessary infrastructure, especially in rural areas. With half of rural households expected to be headed by an over 65 in just two decades, it has never been more essential that we have a national focus on providing homes that meet the needs of our parents, grandparents and all the older people in our communities, which is something the LGA has consistently called for.

“Councils want to see a desperately-needed residential revolution in older people’s housing. However, they need to have the tools to build these appropriate homes, including the freedom to borrow to build new homes across the country, fully resourced planning teams so approvals can be given to appropriate homes as quickly as possible, and allowed to retain 100 per cent of receipts from Right to Buy sales so that homes sold can be replaced.

“There is a clear link between housing, health and social care which means ensuring we have enough, appropriate housing for older people must be a serious consideration in the forthcoming social care green paper. It’s essential that housing for older people enables them to live independently at home for longer, by including adaptations which enable them to get around easily and support them at home.

“If councils are given the right tools, we could trigger that residential revolution and deliver the homes our older residents need, but with an ageing population, the clock is ticking. As a country, we owe it to our older people to tackle this problem urgently – the time to act is now.”

Rural HAPPI 4: Rural Housing for an Ageing Population: Policy Initiatives 2018.

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