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

News Highlights

Top 5 Wishes for 2025

As we embark on a new year, the housing and care sectors face both challenges and opportunities to improve lives across the UK. In this context, Jeremy Porteus, CEO of Housing LIN, shares his vision for a more inclusive and accessible future, with a focus on policy changes and investments that can make a tangible difference.

These Top 5 Wishes for 2025 not only highlight critical areas for attention but also reflect a commitment to creating lasting solutions for some of the most vulnerable in our society.

• Read here

In case you missed it... Reflecting on 2024: Housing LIN’s Year in Review

Reflect on our top highlights and revisit some of the most popular resources from 2024, celebrating the accomplishments, lessons learned, and memorable moments that have defined the year.

We also highlighted the sector's New Year’s Honours list here, celebrating some of the incredible achievements of outstanding individuals in the sector! 

Disabled Facilities Grant allocations confirmed

Following the 2024 Autumn Statement and the announcement of the increased allocation for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG), the DFG allocations for 2025-26 have now been confirmed by the Government, totalling £711 million for the year.

Government announces a Commission on adult social care reform

The government has announced it is setting up an independent commission to recommend long-term reform to adult social care in England.

Led by Baroness Casey, the commission will report to the government in 2028 on how it can achieve its manifesto commitment of creating a National Care Service.

Resource Roundup

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

Our last HAPPI Hour webinar of 2024 focused on 'Do-it-yourself' cohousing. 

A big thank you to Owen Jarvis (UK Cohousing Network), Dawn Carr (WM-Legacy), and Clare O'Connell (WeCanMake) for your insightful contributions!

We're pleased to share the recording, slides and chat box links here. 

Resident of the Future: A Clarion Housing Group report

This publication by Clarion Housing Group uses demographic shifts in its residents over time to project who they might be in the near future, as well as the growing challenges they are likely to face.

You may also be interested in our upcoming HAPPI Hour webinar exploring the effectiveness of Clarion Futures’ Warm Spaces as a tool to support the mental, physical and financial health of Clarion Housing residents and their surrounding communities.

Report proposes new way forward to put equity of health and wellbeing at the heart of housing policy

UCL's Institute of Health Equity has produced a report explaining the consequences housing problems have for health equity and outlining what can be done by national and local government in collaboration with the property sector to solve the twin crises of housing and health.

What else caught our interest...

• CACHE: Moving house in older age: are financial incentives likely to work?
• CACHE: Navigating housing challenges for older adults: The importance of person-centred care
• Centre for Ageing Better: Ageing Better study reveals one in five older people living in homes making them sicker
• Inside Housing: Housing should be the government’s mission
• Institute for Fiscal Studies - Hotel of Mum and Dad? Co-residence with parents among those aged 25–34
• Institute of Government podcast – How can the social care crisis be fixed?
• Pozzoni: 'Older People’s Housing Taskforce Report: The Key Points' by Nigel Saunders
• Routledge, Taylor & Francis: Creating Community Health (book to order)
• Stonewater Housing Association: Funding for Longleigh research into rural housing crisis

Dates for your diary

You can watch all previous HAPPI Hour webinar recordings here.

Upcoming HAPPI Hour webinars:

• HAPPI Hour - Why Warm Spaces Matter
  21/01/2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Events supported by the Housing LIN

• Appello Webinar: Analogue to Digital converters: Are they the short-term answer to the risk of telecare call failures? on Thursday 6th February from 2 - 3pm

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.