National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society

Jane Everton

Deputy Director

Department for Communities and Local Government

6 December 2007

Picture: Care and Repair, England

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National Strategy

• Overview – the grand challenge of ageing

• Health, housing and care

• A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society

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Overview - The Grand Challenge of Ageing

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The hidden story of housing in an ageing society

•Housing growth driven by ageing population. 48% of new households will be older to 2026. Older people major economic contributors and growing influence as a consumer group.

•The human and financial costs to projected shortage of suitable housing and services are great. Rising demand for care. Projections of older disabled to double by 2041; dementia by 150% by 2051. Where will they live?

Despite the projections, many see housing in ageing society seen as marginal issue.

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Older households make up half of all new growth

Over 65 as % of all household growth

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

Over 65 as % of all

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National picture hideslocal pressure points…

Actual change in numbers over state pension age by area (1991 - 2001)

Source: Office for National Statistics

10 areas with largest actual growth in older households:

Bradford, Doncaster, East Riding, Hereford, KirkleesLeeds, Milton Keynes, North Somerset, Wakefield, Wigan.

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Health, Housing and Care

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Poor housing results in poor healthand care home admissions

• Falls alone cost the NHS £726m a year

• 26,000 “excess winter deaths” last winter - result from illness connected to cold and damp conditions (ODPM HHSHS research)

• 28% of older people live in non-decent or hazardous housing or 2.1 million households (EHCS 2005).

• 51% go into care home after hospitalisation because a return to home not practical.

• Long-term care expenditure would need to rise by 325% in real terms between 2002 and 2041 if we do nothing.

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Heath, housing and care. ‘The triangle of independence’

Enabling housing

& environment

Goodhealth

Socialnetworksand care

Independentolder

person

Services in one area fail the person if other parts missing.

Evidence on key reasons for loss of independence are inter-action between health, social, housing.

Multi-disciplinary approach more successful. Housing often missing link.

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What will the Strategy say?

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Launch public debate on what we want for ourselves in terms of housing for the future?

• Status quo is unsustainable in terms of services and supply of housing. Like Stern on climate change, Wanless on health and care and Turner Pensions, doing nothing has grave consequences.

• Further pressure on existing housing shortages and rising eligibility criteria for services.

• Challenge thinking about older people as dependent and the medical model. Embodied by products & services which belong in hospital not homes!

• Future will mean aspirational consumer led housing and services. Active ageing, participation and empowerment key to economics.

A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society

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Key principles

• Prevention - a commitment to boost services that meet the economic challenges of an ageing society. Incentivising individuals and services to behave in long term economic interest for themselves and others;

• Personalisation - by promoting a genuine involvement in policy, services and communities, and giving older people the information and resources to take control; and

• Joining up – but that they all join up around what the person's needs and wants.

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action areas

A better deal for older people today.1. Housing advice and information.2. Repairs and adaptations services.3. Future HIA pilot.4. Prevention technology.5. New national objective on housing and older people.

A housing revolution for an ageing society 1. Planning and supply revolution - more homes, more choice.2. Lifetime Homes.3. Lifetime Neighbourhoods. 4. Inclusive Design– product design to city planning.5. Starting a public debate.

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Better Information and Advice

•Older people need independent advice to support them to make the right decisions about housing and care.

•Currently, information is fragmented and difficult to access.

• Support needs to be tailored to the person’s level of need and risk.

•Government needs to work in partnership with the voluntary and community sector and statutory partners to deliver information better.

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Adaptations and Repairs

•Most older people want to remain in their homes for as long as possible

•More than half of households with at least one seriously ill or disabled member lack the adaptations that they need

•In 1999 only 54% of local authorities had a HIA. By 2006, this figure had risen to 90%

•We need to make sure that repairs and adaptations happen more quickly, and that service coverage becomes more even

•Potential in HIA sector for more holistic, client-focused services

•King’s Fund research

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New Supply and Planning

Homes for the Future commitment to delivering 2 million homes by 2016 and 3 million homes by 2020.

Planners have a key role:•providing leadership on meeting the challenges of demographic change •delivering on growth.

Ageing must become a mainstream issue for planners, located within the framework of sustainability and growth

Planning policy statement 3 requires planners to take the needs of older people into account when planning for housing

Strategic housing market assessment guidance -requires local analysis of the needs of older people, which should inform planning of public and private sector specialised housing

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Lifetime Homes

The Lifetime Homes Standard calls for homes with built-in flexibility - designed so that people can live in them for their entire lives.

We have consulted on:

• the Code for Sustainable Homes, including the Lifetime Homes Standard

•Introducing progressive incentives to encourage developers to include the Lifetime Homes standard

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Towards Lifetime Neighbourhoods: Designing Sustainable Communities for All

• Lifetime neighbourhoods are those which offer everyone the best possible chance of health, wellbeing, and social, economic and civic engagement regardless of age.

• Better representation of the issues of Lifetime Neighbourhoods and an ageing population must be made in local and regional strategies.

• Older people are not just beneficiaries of Lifetime Neighbourhoods; they also have a key role to play in their creation.

• Most features of lifetime neighbourhoods will benefit all generations.

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Specialist housing – a positive choice

• 25% of people are expected to need some form of specialised housing at some point in their lives

• We need to increase the supply of specialised housing, and the choice of tenures and levels of care available

• Innovation in design to meet future needs and aspirations

• Over £375m to develop Extra Care housing

We need to make specialist housing into a positive choice for older people, not a last resort

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What next?

•November 2007 – launched Lifetime Neighbourhoods Discussion Paper with ILC-UK

•The National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society to be published along with supporting research on older people's needs and aspirations

•Today we launch research from the Kings Fund on Predictive Risk Modelling

This is just one step in an ongoing process

Older people are the future