Give councils and providers the tools to incentivise retirement communities, new report argues

A new report today argues that retirement communities, a ‘fringe’ part of the conversation on reform of adult social care, should be considered a major part of the solution on how care is delivered in England in the future.

The Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO) and the County Councils Network (CCN), who co-authored the report, say that these retirement communities offering care and support could play a hugely important preventative role in addressing the adult social care funding crisis and keeping people out of hospital longer.

Currently, just 0.6% of over 65s – 75,000 people – live in a retirement community: developments which allow people to live in their own property, but within a community that has onsite care, a wide range of services and amenities on site.

Click here to download the new report. 

The report argues that councils and providers should be given the tools by government to incentivise and accelerate these developments as research shows that residents in these developments spend up to 12 days less on average in hospital due to unplanned accidents compared to those in regular housing.

CCN and ARCO argue that these types of community should form part of the conversation on future reform of adult social care after Coronavirus – with the government’s long-awaited green paper set to be published in the aftermath.

This is because having more over 65s in retirement communities will allow more people to live independently for longer and in accommodation that provides care on site. This means that they are living in places whereby if they develop care needs, they can be easily looked rather than living in homes that become unsuitable the more complex their care requirements become – leading to expensive hospital stays.

ARCO estimates that should 250,000 people live in retirement communities by 2030, it could free up over 560,000 bedrooms back onto the market.

The report sets out several ‘bold but easily implementable’ reforms such as changes to planning rules, a government task force, and tailored funding pots to help incentivise more development of retirement communities.

Key recommendations from the report include:

• The introduction of a new planning classification called ‘C2R’, to incentivise more development of retirement communities. This would better enable local councils to include retirement communities in their Local Plans, whilst reducing complexity and confusion for councils and providers alike when planning for these types of specialist developments. A new classification will also help ensure that some developers do not provide substandard retirement communities.
• Establishing a government task force on meeting the current and future housing and care needs of people as they age in communities and the economy.
• Encourage closer working between the district council, responsible for planning, and the county council, responsible for health, in two tier areas. The report suggests setting up a health and housing funding pot to support the development of affordable retirement communities in two-tier areas and establishing a framework for more collaboration. Councils with responsibility for planning should include policies within their local plans that outline the current and future need for older people’s housing and care, including retirement communities.
• With at least ten different terms used to describe retirement communities, clarity could be given by consistent use of language to describe retirement communities.

Cllr David Williams, chairman of the County Councils Network, said:

“Retirement communities are currently a fringe part of the adult social care conversation, but the benefits they can bring to people’s wellbeing, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, and freeing up half a million bedrooms shows that they should be a prime part of the solution to many of the societal challenges we face.

“Today’s report contains some bold yet easily implementable recommendations, not least in introducing a new planning classification to cut down on confusion, bureaucracy, and a clear specification for councils to include in their assessment of housing and care needs. These reforms could help turbocharge the development of retirement communities over the next decade.

“When looking at examples of other countries, it is clear the concept has yet to take off in England. But a small step change, aided by freedoms and tools from government, could usher in big results.”

Nick Sanderson, chair of ARCO said:

“This bold and imaginative report makes some extremely insightful recommendations for how our sector can grow and play an even greater role in supporting our health and care systems.

“The Retirement Community sector is ready to play its part in partnership with councils in delivering good housing-with-care to hundreds of thousands more older people. The coronavirus outbreak has shown just how important it is to have a strong and sustainable care system for older people, ready to take the strain of the NHS at all times.

“Policy makers should take heed of these recommendations and act now. A housing and care revolution is within reach if the Government is prepared to do the right thing.”

Notes to Editor

• ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators) is the trade association for operators of housing-with-care developments for older people. Click here for more.
• The County Councils Network is the national voice for England’s county councils. It represents all 25 county councils and 11 county unitary authorities. Collectively, they represent 26 million people, or 47% of the country’s population. For more information click here: countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk.
• The figure of 0.6% of all over 65s in England living in a retirement community is from ARCO Analytics (2019) Available at: https://www.arcouk.org/resource/retirement-communities-fact-pack. This is based on Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) data.
• The figures on hospital stays in paragraph four of this press release are taken from a study carried out by Aston and Lancaster Universities for ExtraCare, a housing charity that runs a retirement community in Buckinghamshire. See page 11 of the CCN and ARCO report for more.
• The figures on bedrooms being released are from ARCO’s methodology. See page 11 of the CCN and ARCO report for more.