LGA Responds To Supported Housing Funding Announcement

“This announcement will help address the growing number of people living longer with increasingly complex needs who want to live independent lives in their own homes and communities, rather than being stuck in a hospital bed or unsuitable accommodation.”

Responding to the Government’s announcement of an extra £76 million-a-year funding to build homes with the right infrastructure for older and disabled people and those with mental health conditions, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“The housing crisis means there is a shortage of suitable homes to meet everyone’s needs, including older and disabled people and people in vulnerable circumstances.

“This announcement will help address the growing number of people living longer with increasingly complex needs who want to live independent lives in their own homes and communities, rather than being stuck in a hospital bed or unsuitable accommodation.

“Councils need urgent funding to invest in effective prevention work to support independent living and reduce the need for people to be admitted to hospital in the first place. This is why the LGA has launched its own adult social care green paper to kick-start a desperately-needed debate following the delay of the Government’s green paper.

“Government needs to address immediate pressures and plug the funding gap facing adult social care which is set to exceed £3.5 billion by 2025, just to maintain existing standards of care.

“To increase the supply of more homes to cater for people’s varying needs, the housing borrowing cap should also be lifted as all councils should be allowed to borrow to build.”