The government’s new Older People’s Housing Taskforce has been unveiled as part of its Adult Social Care Implementation Plan.
It will be led by professor Julienne Meyer, a leading expert in older people’s care, and will work towards growing the older people’s housing sector across the UK. Prof Meyer is a former nurse who has led research in care for older people at the City University of London for 23 years. She has worked in several different settings and co-founded My Home Life, an international initiative championing quality of life for older people in care homes.
The taskforce will comprise up to 14 members who will represent investors, property developers, adult social care, the social and private retirement sector and the government. The first meeting will take place once all members are confirmed.
Having first been announced in February 2022, the taskforce is part of the government’s Levelling Up White Paper and will run for up to twelve months. Its remit is to increase the volume and housing options available to older people, providing them with more choice, quality and security in later life.
It will work across the housing, health and care sectors. The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities said the taskforce would report its interim findings after six months.
Housing Minister Rachel Maclean said: “Making sure older people can access the right homes that meet their needs later in life is a government priority. And by unlocking more housing for older people, we can also have a hugely beneficial impact on their health and wellbeing.
“I am very excited to have Professor Meyer leading this taskforce, as we radically improve the choices available to older people, whether that’s retirement housing or support to help people live independently for longer.”
Retirement housebuilder, McCarthy Stone, welcomed the announcement, saying that it had called for the taskforce to be launched for some time. CEO John Tonkiss hopes there will be a “bold and ambitious framework for retirement housing, including reforming planning, increasing supply of new retirement properties from circa 7,000 to 30,000 a year, and helping Homes England to make 10% of their new housing designed specifically for older people.”
He also called for an exemption of stamp duty for older people who move into a retirement community in order to incentivise downsizing.
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