**6. The financial benefits to society of investing in housing**

Looking at the bigger picture, there is also a direct correlation between poorly maintained or designed housing and ill health and mortalities. According to the BRE, the estimated costs of poor housing to the NHS is £1.4 billion a year [21]. Even if the country reached the Government target of 300,000 new homes each year [22] and built them to Category 2 standards the total cost of that would be £420 million… just one third of the NHS figure.

Invest in older people's housing and the whole of society benefits, but that opportunity is currently being ignored.

According to The Strategic Society [23], aggregated savings to the State for each new specialist retirement housing unit built amounted to £83,100 over a period of 10 years – once you take into account reduced health and care needs, a reduction in local authority entitlements and the benefit of first-time buyers not having to rent and so receiving housing benefits. Equally, how much is it currently costing the nation for some 530,000 long-term sick and disabled over 65-year-olds to be living in a non-decent home [24]? The current energy crisis is highlighting the problem that so many elderly people have in keeping their home warm and dry when it is poorly insulated, draughty or subject to damp.

The failure to adequately adapt and repair the existing homes of older people represents a huge missed opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of a large swathe of the population and reduce public expenditure in the process. In the Centre for Ageing Better's 2021 report, "Home & Dry, the need for decent homes in later life" [25], compiled in association with Care & Repair England, the conclusion is drawn that: "After decades of improvements and year-on-year decreases in the number of non-decent homes, the rate of improvement is stalling for all ages. In the case of households headed by someone aged over 75 years old, the trend has actually reversed and the number of non-decent homes has risen from 533,000 in 2012 to 701,000 in 2017. This age group are also disproportionately likely to be living in a nondecent home compared to younger age groups (more than 1 in 5 of over 75-year-old households)."

Further, they report that: "New analysis for this report shows that the NHS spends £513 million alone on first year treatment costs for over 55s living in the poorest quality housing. An investment of £4.3 billion could repair all these homes – a cost that would be paid back in just over eight years, and would immeasurably improve the quality of life for millions of people, now and in the future."

The lack of relatively small amounts of funding is cited as the primary obstacle to dealing with this issue: "Around one third of all non-decent homes could be repaired for £1,000. Previous funding to address housing disrepair, such as means-tested grants for lower income homeowners, has been withdrawn in recent years. In 1983-84 the national allocated funding for private-sector housing improvement and repair was £1.1 billion. By 2010-11 this was down to £317 million, and then ceased completely the following financial year."

As ever, it's all a question of priorities… and votes. As of May 2022 [26], the Government had provided over £22 billion in equity loans for 355,634 starter homes since 2013, creating lots of nice headlines for an investment of just over £60,000 per home. But the UK needs "Later Homes" too. Where is the support to make that happen?

If you enable older people to remain safe and independent in their own home, and so age in place, many will be able to rely on their existing informal social and familial networks for basic support… which not only reduces the burdens on health and social care but also delays their need to go into specialist care. Surely it's time to make this a national priority, benefiting all generations in the process?

But some 95% of older people live in accommodation lacking even basic accessibility features [27], so when mobility or health issues strike, many find it hard to move about their own homes, leaving them to live in just one or two rooms. A percentage will inevitably suffer a fall as a direct result of living in a house that has poor accessibility or is not fitted with even basic mobility equipment such as grab rails and ramps.

Why is this factor so important? According to NICE [28]: "Falls are *the leading cause of mortality resulting from injury in people aged 75 and older in the UK. Around 30% of adults who are over 65 and living at home will experience at least one fall a year (approximately 2.5 million people in England). Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for over four million hospital bed days each year in England alone."* [29]

Moreover, getting those people back home again swiftly, and "unblocking" the bed they are occupying, can be a major problem if the assessment undertaken before they can be discharged finds their home is unsuitable for them to return safely.
