Putting Home Adaptations on the Policy Agenda in England

Abstract

Countries with aging populations require people to remain independent for as long as possible to reduce pressures on health and care services. England has an old housing stock, low replacement rates and little specialized housing for older people. There is grant assistance to adapt homes, but resources are restricted and service pathways complex. This article charts the findings of change management projects and national reviews that show that reform is hampered by a lack of robust data about the financial benefits of adaptations. Better evidence is needed to give housing issues greater prominence in health and care planning.

KEYWORDS:

• Home adaptations
• home modifications
• disabled facilities grant
• housing and health
• evidence review

Disclosure statement

The views expressed are those of the author not of the organizations that have funded the various projects described in this article.

Notes

1 The policy discussion in this paper relates to England because the different parts of the UK (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have different legislation and approaches to health, social care, housing and home adaptations. However, some of the demographic statistics used in this article relate to the UK as a whole.