Older people

By 2025, 20% of the population of England will be of pension age and there will be 5.4 million people aged 75 or over.  By 2030, there will be around 1.7 million black and ethnic minority older people in the United Kingdom.

Generally, people are living longer and staying healthier longer, although ageing brings with it increasing frailty. In the next generation of older people we can expect more women than men, more people living alone, more childless people, more owner occupiers and more people who have spent there life in good quality spacious housing.  Yet there will still be poor people, lonely people and people who feel excluded from the mainstream of society.

The challenge is to develop a range of housing and services that meet the needs of the whole community, promote age equality and social inclusion and ensure that older people and their families know how they can access these services.

Many older people say that they want to remain independent and also interdependent with family, friends and society in general.  Many people prefer to stay in their existing home, while others choose specialised forms of housing that offer community, security and the effective delivery of support and care.  The challenge is to develop polices and services that allow older people to choose the housing that is most appropriate to their needs. 

There is still unfair and discriminatory treatment of older people in society and housing provision is no exception.  The challenge is to develop policies and services that confront discrimination and focus on the needs of the individual.