Older People’s Housing Taskforce

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an interesting point about intergenerational living. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on that particular case, but I am happy to take it away with me and have a private conversation with him.

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, what levers do the Government plan to have to ensure that the recommendations in the report, such as accessible bathrooms and toilets, with doors to bathrooms that open outwards, are actually built into all new plans because of a high incidence of falls in the home? These affect not only morbidity but mortality rates. Similarly, how will they ensure that stairs are properly designed, as we previously debated, to decrease the number of falls of old people on stairs?

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

The noble Baroness makes a very important point. I understand that accessibility in new homes—and accessibility standards for buildings in general—is an important concern. Housing is one of this Government’s top priorities. Everyone deserves to live in a decent home where they feel safe. We will set out our policies on accessible new-build housing shortly, and we will make sure that accessibility is a part of the discussion when we bring forward our new housing strategy.