AN increase in the quantity of high-quality housing for older people has been recently called for by an UK ‘taskforce’, looking at ‘housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population’.
Please note, this article was first published on another website run by Mike Wilson (editor of BuildEdinburgh.com) in November 2024. So, for BuildEdinburgh (even though not launched until May 2025), this publication date recognises both sites.
Says a report published (here) by the taskforce - focussed primarily on England and launched by two UK Government departments (Health and Social Care and also Housing, Communities and Local Government): “Put simply, we need to offer senior citizens greater choice, particularly as their lifestyle and health needs evolve in later life. Ensuring suitable, accessible and affordable housing for later living is a societal obligation on which the current housing market falls significantly short.”
In addition, the taskforce says the ambition should be to “ensure [that] senior citizens, families and professionals working with them can access free, timely, trusted information, advice and advocacy on housing options, locally - including support to stay in their own home, ‘rightsize’, or move into community-led housing, service-led housing (supported living and assisted living), or care homes (nursing and non-nursing)”.
It continues: “Specialist financial advice, including on benefits, should be [also] available to assist people in planning for the future, as well as legal advice. And we need to develop, use and popularise a clear, shared understanding (across public and professionals) of common terminology for the different types of older people’s housing / later living homes.”
The taskforce’s report, ‘Our Future Homes’, has been endorsed - here - by the Centre for Ageing Better.
Please note, this article was first published on another website run by Mike Wilson (editor of BuildEdinburgh.com) in November 2024. So, for BuildEdinburgh (even though not launched until May 2025), this publication date recognises both sites.
Image details: Just off Ferry Road, Edinburgh; copyright Mike Wilson