6 Oct 2022
The right type of housing is as important as location, location, location
The housing crisis is as much to do with the type of homes being built as it is to do with where and how many.
In her party conference speech, the Prime Minister said houses haven't been built where they're needed and wanted. But these homes need to meet the needs of our ageing population.
Liz Truss gave her first conference speech as Conservative Party Leader yesterday in Birmingham following her victory in the Tory leadership contest this summer.
The Prime Minister told the watching delegates that houses haven't been built where they're needed and wanted. She promised that her government would make it easier to build homes. In response to the Prime Minister’s comments, Ageing Better believes that the lack of housing that meets the needs of many individuals and families lies at the heart of the current housing crisis.
We're hopeful that the government’s plans to raise the minimum accessibility standards for new build homes could help to solve this issue.
And we're calling on the Prime Minister to prioritise this legislative change as soon as possible.
Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, said:
"We agree with the Prime Minister that we need homes in the places they are wanted and needed. Equally vital is that they are the type of homes that are wanted and needed.
“Fewer than one in ten homes in England have the accessibility features that would make it easy for someone with an impairment to live there. This means that millions of people, as they age, will not be able to stay in their own homes which in turn will lead to unnecessary demands on health and care services.
“Fortunately, the Prime Minister has a ready-made remedy to help solve this problem through raising the minimum accessibility standards of new build homes.
“It's great news that the government has committed to this and vital now that this transformative policy is rolled out urgently so that new homes being built where they're needed and wanted are also homes that meet people’s needs throughout their lives.”