ARCO's proposal for housing-with-care task force under serious consideration after Parliamentary debate

Last Thursday, MPs urged the Government to back ARCO’s proposal (opens new window) for a cross-department housing-with-care task force. During the Parliamentary debate on housing-with-care, MPs advocated the performance of housing-with-care during the pandemic and agreed that older people should be given a choice and option to live in this setting.

Informed by research conducted by St Monica Trust and the Housing LIN, housing-with-care settings have been praised by MPs during the debate for keeping residents safe from COVID-19 and socially connected at a time of physical isolation. This reflection on social care systems during the pandemic has encouraged the government to take on board proposals by ARCO for a new housing-with-care task force to solve the existing policy challenges holding the sector back.

During the debate Social Care Minister, Helen Whately added that the task force was under serious consideration in an attempt to see the sector grow as part of a diverse social care system and would be looked after by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).