The Britain government and media are both overlooking the serious shortage of suitable, affordable housing for older people, wrote Claudia Wood, the CEO of think-tank Demos. She warned the shortfall added to health and social care costs, cancelling out any savings made by the Department for Work and Pensions, while planning rules and bureaucracy have made it harder for developers to build sheltered or supported accommodation. Wood also criticised the government's plan to extend the housing benefit cap to take in supported homes (which it since dropped) and said sheltered housing saved health and care services £486m ($635m) annually.
The UK government and media are both overlooking the serious shortage of suitable, affordable housing for older people, wrote Claudia Wood, the CEO of think-tank Demos. She warned the shortfall added to health and social care costs, cancelling out any savings made by the Department for Work and Pensions, while planning rules and bureaucracy have made it harder for developers to build sheltered or supported accommodation. Wood also criticised the government's plan to extend the housing benefit cap to take in supported homes (which it since dropped) and said sheltered housing saved health and care services £486m ($635m) annually.