Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of (a) retirement housing and (b) extra care housing across all tenures to alleviate pressure on the care home sector.

I agree that the growth of this sector is important for meeting the needs of the aging population and supporting our housing supply objectives. We are investing over £12 billion in affordable housing over 5 years, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, where 10 per cent of delivery will be used to increase the supply of much needed specialist or supported housing.

In our revised National Planning Policy Framework, published in July 2018, we set out that authorities should assess the types of specialist housing needed for older and disabled people in their areas and reflect this in their planning policies. We followed this up by publishing Planning Practice Guidance in June 2019, which assists councils in putting policies in the National Planning Policy Framework in place.

We are continuing to work closely with the sector to look at how we can further support its growth.