£3.5 million funding to improve housing options for older people

Care Services Minister Phil Hope has announced a £3.5 million innovation fund for older people needing care and support to benefit from new and refreshed local housing strategies.

Every Council with Adult Social Care responsibility will be awarded approximately approximately £20,000 to develop or update its extra care housing strategy.

They will be expected to showcase their strategies, promote good practice and exchange ideas on innovative approaches to housing with care on a new on-line web-resource.

Extra Care Housing provides the best housing design features for older people alongside personal care and The Department of Health has invested £227 million in Extra Care housing since 2004.

There are still approximately 38,000 units of accommodation compared to ten times that for retirement housing and also residential care.

Hope, said: "Innovative houses that meet the needs and aspirations of older people are vital to the future of care and support."

"They are at the heart of the technological change that will define our ageing society, enable more people to live well and live independently in their own home for longer."

Further information;
Department of Health