Councils should help elderly to downsize, minister says

Housing Minister Grant Shapps and Communities Minister Andrew Stunell have called on Councils to use every opportunity under the ‘New Deal for Older People’ to give elderly people more choice and control over where they live so they are not pressured to sell their home or move into residential care according to this article. Under the proposals, a Council would arrange for an elderly person to move into rented accommodation, and then take responsibility for maintaining and letting their property at an affordable rate. According to Mr Shapps, some older people could move to smaller, more suitable accommodation whilst families benefit from living in an affordable home. The model for the idea comes from a government backed FreeSpace pilot project run by Redbridge Council in East London. The Department for Communities and Local Government offers a free information and advice service to help older people make informed decisions about their housing, care and support options. A report that analyses different options for meeting the housing needs of older people, including the FreeSpace scheme, can be found here Older people form a significant part of rural communities. It will be interesting to see how the New Deal and FreeSpace addresses the rural context and in particular issues around access to services (formal health and social care services and volunteering/informal community infrastructure) and affordability (access to housing).