The new taskforce on older people’s housing will help level up health

A taskforce that at long last brings together different government departments to break down silos and transform housing and care provision for older people. A taskforce that puts in place the policies to give older people real choice in later life, expanding the possibilities between staying in the family home or moving into a care home. A taskforce that has prevention and healthy living at its heart.

The health benefits brought by integrated retirement communities, otherwise known as housing with care, are well established. Residents experience fewer falls and reduced frailty.

“If 250,000 older people live in an integrated retirement community by 2030 – our sector’s aim – then more than 560,000 bedrooms will have been released”

NHS costs such as GP and hospital visits go down by an average of 38%. While unplanned hospital stays are dramatically reduced by an average of eight to 14 days to one to two days, compared with the same age group in the wider community.

Mental health and well-being improve too, with just 1% of residents saying they feel isolated as a result of the great opportunities for social connection.

Integrated retirement communities are not just about levelling up for older people, it’s for younger people, too. By providing great right-sizing options for older people, larger homes are freed up for families and those making a start on the housing ladder. If 250,000 older people live in an integrated retirement community by 2030 – our sector’s aim – then more than 560,000 bedrooms will have been released.

Intergenerational inequalities are also overcome by reducing the informal care responsibilities placed on many families. In addition, integrated retirement communities play an important part in the wider local community, as well as being a key provider of local jobs.

The problem is that these benefits have, up till now, been spread very unevenly across the country. While more integrated retirement communities are needed everywhere, the South East of England has far better provision than the North East, for instance. Nationally, just 0.6% of over-65s have the opportunity to live in an integrated retirement community, compared with 5% to 6% in New Zealand, Australia and the US. Is this fair?

The taskforce should be precisely the political vehicle that helps us overcome these disparities. As we have seen in other countries, sector-specific legislation and regulation is key to driving a growth in the supply of integrated retirement communities.

For example, in New Zealand a Retirement Villages Act was introduced in 2003, which put the building blocks in place for the sector to flourish. Doing the same in this country requires policy on housing and social care to dovetail, and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Department of Health and Social Care to collaborate.

It requires clear definitions of the different housing and care options for older people to be set out, for the planning system to properly account for these options and set targets for each, for key pieces of social care legislation to be used to drive forward innovative models of care, and for consumer protection regulation to be strengthened. No single department can achieve these things alone.

That is why the cross-department nature of last week’s taskforce announcement is welcome. After the blights of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the potential to build a brighter future for older people right across the country and really level up health and well-being, if we use the taskforce effectively. It’s time to get to work.

Jane Ashcroft, chief executive, Anchor; vice-chair, ARCO