§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the publication of the study commissioned by his Department 853W from Ernst and Young on the housing needs o f elderly and disabled people and on the main conclusions of the research.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesThis research confirms that the Government's policy of enabling frail elderly and disabled people to remain as far as possible in their existing homes, through house adaptations and domiciliary care support, is the preferred option of the majority and is the most costeffective solution to their housing needs. It also establishes that this policy has been successful in targeting those who are in most need of help, that is, elderly and disabled people in the highest dependency groupings, low-income households, and the most elderly single people and couples.
The report argues, however, that housing providers should re-assess their priorities over specialised accommodation for elderly and disabled people, such as sheltered housing. There is nationally a significant overprovision of ordinary sheltered housing and, to a lesser extent, an under-provision of very sheltered or extra-care housing. This under-provision can be remedied, in many cases through up-grading ordinary sheltered housing.
I welcome this report as a major contribution to the debate about the housing needs of elderly and disabled people and about new and more flexible forms of providing for them. I have placed in the Library today copies of Living Independently—A Study of the Housing Needs of elderly and disabled people.