Our work with the government

Keeping supported and older person’s housing on the political agenda

Although future funding for supported housing is secure, it’s important that we still keep supported housing on the political agenda to ensure that politicians know these services are vital and need protecting.

To raise the profile of the vital services provided by supported housing we launched a campaign called Starts at Home, which has a simple but important aim – to ensure that people who need extra support will always have a safe home that meets their needs.

Over the years, this campaign has led to hundreds of MPs visiting supported housing schemes, and resulted in several Westminster Hall debates. It has also given a platform for the people who live in supported housing to share their stories on what it’s like to live there.

You can find out more, including how you can get involved in the campaign, by visiting the Starts at Home website.

Why we’re asking the next government to create a long-term plan for supported and older person’s housing

Ahead of the next general election, we’re calling for all political parties to commit to a long-term plan for housing. We’re calling on all political parties to be ambitious and transformative in their approach to housing. This includes supported and older person’s housing, where we’re calling for every decision about care to be a decision about housing.

Over the next decade, 125,000 more people are going to need supported housing. Supported housing is essential to society, saves the taxpayer money and needs more investment. Despite this, we have seen a shortfall in investment in supported housing, and a lack of a long-term plan for housing. The decision to renege on the £300m Housing Transformation Fund shows that we need a new commitment to long-term funding for vital supported housing services.

We also need a long-term plan for housing that works for older people. Older people today are particularly vulnerable to poor housing that can cause or worsen health conditions and reduce a person’s quality of life. Close to half of England’s 4.3 million non-decent homes are lived in by someone over 55 years old. With an ageing population, we need older person’s housing to be a priority for the next government.

Working with the government on the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act

On 29 August, the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act became enshrined in law. This new legislation aims to introduce new regulations to tackle poor quality supported housing and protect residents.

At the NHF, we support the aim of the Act to tackle poor quality exempt accommodation, whilst being committed to helping good quality providers of vital services have their voices heard and shape the details of the new regulations through the consultation process.

As a named statutory consultee within this legislation, the NHF will make sure supported housing providers are represented and heard throughout the process of shaping the new system.