the government should consider whether the fragmentation at a national level is
providing best value.
Recommendation: Introduce a cross-cutting Minister for Older
People.
Impact: This would:
• Allow an individual to reach across government silos.
• Provide a single figurehead with the power to influence policy.
• Increase the accountability for future examples of poor care for older people.
.
4.10 Raise awareness of the need to save for care
As research has suggested that not enough of the population are aware that
the Government does not fully fund social care for older people more must be
done to improve public understanding about the cost of care to ensure that future
generations are prepared. Financial advice should be a key part of the long-term
care system. Private funding options for care should also be promoted to give
people greater choice about how they pay for care-for example the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation proposed a national equity release scheme be piloted to
help keep people in their homes.128
Recommendation: Care home providers, local authorities and the
Government should work together to increase the level of public
information about the need for people to start saving for care. This
would include greater accessibility to financial advice and different
private funding options.
Impact: This would:
• Better prepare individuals for their future care.
• Reduce pressure on avoidable admissions to primary and acute care
providers.
• Mitigate against future reductions to local government social care funding.
4.11 Incentivise an increase in the provision of age-appropriate
housing
While there is no single answer, we think that the planning system holds the key
to facilitating the creation of more age appropriate housing to counter-balance
the shortfall illustrated in section 3.4. We welcome the recent agreement made
between NHS England, various UK government departments, the National
Housing Federation and the Chartered Institute of Housing which aims to set
out a framework for cross-sector partnerships at local and national level and to
enable: "improved collaboration and integration of healthcare and housing in the
planning, commissioning and delivery of homes and services".129
From a top-down systemic perspective, we echo some of the recommendations of
Demos' 'Commission on Residential Care'.130 In particular, we agree that local
plans should be co-produced with care commissioners and those responsible
for drafting local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. We also concur that these
local plans should include an assessment of the population's future housing with
care and retirement housing needs along-side an assessment of need for general
accessible (disabled-friendly) housing. These changes should help developers of
housing with care compete for land and planning permission on a more level
playing field.
128 JRF, Paying for long-term care:
Moving forward (April 2006)
129 National Housing Federation,
"'Landmark agreement' between
housing and health bodies" (19
January 2015)
130 Demos, Commission on
residential care (2014)
Chapter 4 - What Are Our Proposed Solutions?
39