HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News

News Highlights

HAPPI Hour - Is the future DIY cohousing? Can we do it for ourselves?

With a growing interest in community-led housing alternatives and a diverse range of lifestyle choices across all ages, we bring our autumn/winter HAPPI Hour series to a close by looking at the scope for ‘Do-it-yourself’ cohousing and what’s happening at a national and local level. 

Join us on Thursday, 19th December 2024 from 4pm - 5pm.

Housing LIN Celebrates HAPPI Awareness Week 2024!

For a fifth year running, we were excited to celebrate HAPPI Awareness Week, an opportunity to raise awareness around the Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) principles and the virtues of designing care-ready accommodation and age-friendly housing services.

During the week, we celebrated by publishing our Older People’s Housing Preferences report in partnership with Ipsos, as well as HAPPI-related blogs, webinar and resources.

Government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation

In a major boost for communities across the country, the government has last week confirmed changes to planning rules, including turbo charging growth with new, mandatory targets for councils to ramp up housebuilding across the country.

Resource Roundup

New report unveils key insights into the housing preferences of older people in the UK

Produced by the Housing LIN in partnership with Ipsos and funded by UK Research and Innovation, this research is grounded in a representative survey of over 5,500 UK adults aged 50 and over. It offers critical and comprehensive evidence about the housing circumstances, aspirations and preferences of older adults in the UK.

Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report 2024: Health in Cities

Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England, has published his annual state of the nation report. This year he has put the spotlight on what can be done to improve health in cities and the report highlights the key social determinations of health and the health disparities of urban ageing.

You are not alone in feeling lonely: Loneliness in later life

This report from Age UK presents new evidence about the scale of the loneliness challenge among people aged 65 and over, exploring why loneliness is harmful to older people’s health, wellbeing and quality of life and practical steps to mitigate against it.

Expert Insights

Insights from Housing LIN Members on their priorities for the upcoming government Housing Strategy

Building on the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report and in anticipation of the upcoming government Housing Strategy, which is expected to focus on measures that facilitate the goal of constructing 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, we asked Housing LIN Members to share their perspectives on what should be included in the Strategy to address the housing needs and aspirations of an ageing population.

Housing LIN guest blog shares insights into a new Building Social Connections Toolkit

Published to coincide with HAPPI Awareness Week 2024, this blog written by Madeleine Hebert, Senior Housing Specialist at Happy Cities, highlights the importance of social connections in addressing societal challenges such as housing affordability, extreme weather, and ageing populations.

HAPPI Hour recording - Dementia Friendly Technology

The Dementia and Housing Working Group (DHWG) brings you the third in a quarterly 2024 webinar series focused on housing and dementia.

This webinar explored the ways technology can support people living with dementia, along with their families and carers, by addressing both challenges and practical solutions.

Session chair, Ali Rogan also shares her reflections on the insightful discussion and the powerful messages it conveyed, in her latest blog. 

Other Items that Caught our Interest...

• Using Gaming to Plan for Housing - The Supported Living Property Podcast with Vikki McCall
• Regenerating Older People’s Housing on 16/12/2024 2:00pm till 3:00pm

Dates for your diary

With just one more session to go, we hope you have enjoyed our autumn/winter HAPPI Hour series as much as we have!

All forthcoming HAPPI Hour webinars:

• Is the future DIY cohousing? Can we do it for ourselves?
  19/12/2024 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Housing LIN Research and Advisory Services

Building on our highly-prized learning and improvement ethos, the Housing LIN can help you and your organisation underpin your progress in a changing and challenging work environment.

Let's Work Together! To find out how we can support your operational and/or strategic plans, contact us at consultancy@housinglin.org.uk or visit our Research and Advisory Services.