Housing an Ageing Population: The Extra Care Solution

The aim of this UK report is to contribute to the debate on the future of extra care housing and add to the recent publications by HAPPI (2010) and the National Housing Federation (2011). There is already a wealth of material on existing types of extra care provision. The external environment is, however, changing. A complex interrelated set of factors will impact on extra care provision over the next decade. These include an ageing society, technology, emerging coalition government policies and the state of public finances. There is a danger that the reaction to these forces will be one of retrenchment to protect the status quo of extra care principles and practice and the lessons that have emerged over the last two decades. This report argues that the current situation should be seen as an opportunity rather than a challenge.