Housing and Ageing Alliance Spending Review submission

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Better housing for older people benefits all, according to The Housing and Ageing Alliance's submission to the 2025 Spending Review.

The HAA submission emphasises how investment in better housing for older people can help achieve the government's missions; raising living standards and productivity, building 1.5m homes and ending hospital backlogs. It also calls for the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Older People's Housing Taskforce (OPHT) to drive action in this area.

According to the HAA submission, improved provision of later life housing will increase disposable income and GDP and enables active participation in local economies for longer. Construction fuels the economy and good housing can reduce the need for unpaid carers, enabling family members to start and stay in paid employment.

Appropriate housing for older people is a fundamental part of building an inclusive housing market and the OPHT recommendations should also be considered as part of the reform agenda for social care announced at the start of the year.

Greater provision of housing with care and support and good, well designed mainstream housing coupled with better information and advice, and support for aids and adaptations, can speed up the hospital discharge process significantly, and means people are less likely to go into hospital in the first place. This includes the provision of specialist housing where supply barely touches 8,000 annually while the need is between 30,000-50,000.

The need for swift action is more pressing than ever. The UK’s ageing population is growing rapidly and becoming increasingly diverse. Delaying the implementation of the Taskforce’s recommendations will only increase the strain on health and social care systems and further marginalise older people, the submission adds.

Read the full HAA submission to the 2025 Spending Review below.