The future of housing and care

With the publication of Supporting People's outline strategy for housing-related support imminent, delegates at next week's Local Government Association / Association of Directors of Social Services annual conference will hear first hand whether the Government believes sheltered housing has a role in the 21st century.

The issue will be addressed by Terrie Alafat, Director, Homelessness and Housing Support, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as part of a special policy briefing session on housing, care and support. Delegates will be keen to hear the views of Ms Alafat who is one of the key government officials to speak at the session called 'A new vision for care and support services: the future role of sheltered housing', which will be held at 1.30pm in the Pavilion Suite, Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Wednesday 19 October 2005.

The session aims:

• to highlight how commissioners should view sheltered housing as part of a range of lifestyle choices, and how Supporting People can bolster those choices; and
• to raise awareness of the importance of stronger co-ordination between care and support services for older people, linking in with the Green Paper for Adult Social Care.

Other speakers include Jeremy Porteus Housing Network Lead of the Department of Health's Care Service Improvement Partnership (CSIP); Barbara Laing, Managing Director of Anchor Retirement Housing; and Michele Hollywood, 20/20 Project Manager and Corporate Marketing Director of Hanover Housing Association. David Gardiner, Better Government for Older People, and Housing for Older People Development Group (HOPDEV) will chair the session.

Caroline Bernard, Policy Officer at the Anchor Trust, who organised the session, said: "This policy session brings together a powerful panel of senior civil servants and housing care and support providers. The 20/20 Project has given us an excellent basis upon which to discuss the important role that sheltered housing will play in a new vision of care and support."

Following the session, delegates will be invited to the launch of the long-awaited report called '20/20: creating a vision for housing and care'. The report is the outcome of a four month national consultation with registered social landlords, Supporting People teams, housing departments, primary care trusts, charities and individuals and was the largest to take place outside of Government this year.

Views were sought on a range of issues, including the type of housing older people will want in 2020, how and what support services should be delivered, opening up services to ethnic communities and other groups and workforce issues.