§ Lord Swinfenasked Her Majesty's Government:
What constitutes "Sheltered Housing".
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Bellwin)The term is most commonly1098WA taken to mean housing specially designed for occupation by old people and having some common facilities, which usually include warden supervision. However, there is no statutory definition of "Sheltered Housing". The term came into familiar use in connection with the Department of the Environment's former standards for the design of housing for old people, which were based on the Parker Morris standards for local authority housebuilding.
These standards are no longer in operation, and local authorities are free to decide what standards (and costs) give best value for money, subject only to the department's power to intervene in cases of extravagance.
In the case of housing association provision through the Housing Corporation, the corporation's new design and cost criteria use the term "Sheltered Housing" to describe any schemes specially designed for old people.