Don't Blame Older People for Housing Crisis

Calls made in the past for older people living in large homes to be penalised were both ageist and irrelevant, a think tank has claimed.  Instead people should 'right-size' their housing throughout their lives to get the most out of their homes, according to a report from the International Longevity Centre-UK's (ILC-UK).  The report suggests that a lack of desirable retirement housing dissuades many older people from moving - reducing the supply of appropriate homes for younger people.  It points out that the building of housing for older people has collapsed from over 30,000 units a year in the 1980s to around 8,000 today. Download a copy of the report from the ILC website.

Extra Care Provides Health Boost for Residents

Residents in extra care housing are less likely to end up living in institutional accommodation, new research has revealed. The report from the International Longevity Centre found that just 8 per cent of people living in extra care homes entered institutions after five years of residence. Among those aged 80 and over, just 10 per cent entered institutional accommodation, compared with 19 per cent among those receiving domiciliary care. The study, which used data on 4,000 residents supplied by three extra care providers, also found that the type of housing resulted in a lower level of overnight hospital admissions and improvements in health that resulted in a reduction in ancillary social care needs. Download a copy of the report from the ILC website.