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<p> </p><p>The Department of Health is providing £315 million over 5 years for the
Care and Support Specialised Housing fund. The fund is administered by the Homes and
Communities Agency and, within London, by the Greater London Authority. The main aim
of the fund is to support and accelerate the development of the specialised housing
market for older people and disabled adults, which includes extra care housing for
older people. The successful bids for Phase 1 of the fund were announced last year
and will deliver over 3,500 affordable homes. The prospectus for Phase 2 should be
published later this year. Phase 2 will build on the earlier phase and will seek to
include developments which work across sectors to deliver more specialised housing.<br>
<br></p><p> </p><p>Extra care housing for older people is also funded through the
Department for Communities and Local Government's Affordable Homes Programme. The
allocations made outside London for the current 2011 - 15 programme include funding
for over 1,100 extra care homes. In addition, extra care schemes are eligible for
investment through the range of private sector investment programmes run through the
Homes and Communities Agency; for example the Builders Finance Fund and Build To Rent.
Details can be found on the Agency's website: <a href="http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork"
target="_blank">http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
</p><p>Allocations for the 2015 - 2018 Affordable Homes Programme are expected to
be announced in July.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>Older people
have a wide range of different housing needs, ranging from suitable and appropriately
located market housing through to residential institutions. On 6 March, we published
our planning guidance, which contains guidance on assessing housing need, and requires
local councils to consider housing for the elderly against their housing requirement.
The guidance requires plan makers to consider the size, location and quality of dwellings
needed in the future for older people, which will be clearly set out in the Local
Plan. We are clear that local councils and mainstream housing providers need to start
taking older peoples housing far more seriously and increase the quality, choice and
provision of housing for older people.</p><p> </p>
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