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 work with the Department of Health and Social Care to expand housing-based care options for older people; and whether he is considering a cross-government Housing with Care Task Force to help deliver that expansion of options.

The Department has noted the open letter sent by the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO) to the Prime Minister on 29 March 2021. Housing-with-care has a vital role in enabling older people to live independently, with the necessary care and support available if required. Both the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are committed to further improving the diversity of housing options available to older people, including housing-with-care, and are engaging closely with the sector and a range of other stakeholders on this issue. This includes considering the merits of different engagement and delivery models including proposals from the sector for a cross-government taskforce.