We must stop the divisive intergenerational narrative on funding social care

COMMENT The government’s announcement of an extra £5.4bn to support older people and our social care system was a welcome relief to a sector that has long needed greater backing. However, the ensuing debate on how we fund the package has somewhat clouded the news. Since the announcement, we have seen the development of a narrative within the media that pits the old against the young. I understand the disquiet over increasing national insurance for all, which impacts working people, but calls for older people to pay for their own care by increasing taxation on their housing equity, through measures such as capital gains tax, will only create division and more challenges. We continue to see this argument put forward that older people refuse to downsize and are living in properties too large for their needs, and therefore should have their equity taxed instead of making younger generations pay. However, first, increasing taxes on older people will only further compromise their financial situation at a time of life when their resources are most needed. Second, evidence shows that, for many older people, remaining in their existing property is not born out of a desire to do so. On the contrary, research for WPI Economics notes that around 3m older people are looking to downsize to somewhere better suited to their needs but feel unable to do so because there is a lack of suitable properties. The reality for many older people is that downsizing simply isn’t a viable option. We must stop the divisive intergenerational narrative on funding social care and look for a more holistic solution. Greater attention should be paid to how we create a system in which moving to a more suitable home in later life is a feasible option for older people across the entire affordability spectrum. Younger generations Providing proper housing for people to downsize to would not only free up the housing market for younger generations trying to get on the ladder, but it would also reduce care bills. WPI Economics found that a person living in a retirement property saves the NHS and social care system some £3,500 a year. This is why the social care white paper, which is still promised, is so important. It offers the government an opportunity to properly address the critical undersupply of appropriate housing options for older people – from bungalows to retirement villages – and provide a more holistic and sustainable way of supporting our ageing population. We, alongside others in the industry, have been calling for an ambitious framework to provide more housing options for older people, and the white paper presents the perfect opportunity to deliver it. There must be consideration of how we increase the provision of appropriate housing, such as introducing reforms to the planning system to deliver a target of up to 30,000 new retirement properties a year, up from just 7,500 currently. Doing this for the next 10 years would deliver financial savings to the NHS and social care services worth £2.1bn annually. Affordable options We would also like to see an enlarged role for Homes England, the government’s housing delivery agency, which will be key to driving the delivery of affordable retirement housing. We were delighted that our new shared ownership business became a strategic provider for Homes England earlier this month. This partnership will see us deliver 1,500 new affordable shared ownership properties. But more can be done through Homes England’s grant funding programme to help our sector develop in towns and cities that have proved unviable, such as Plymouth, Hull and Middlesbrough – key levelling-up areas. Bringing about these changes would help to create a UK retirement sector that properly supports our ageing population, while at the same time directly increasing the supply of housing for younger generations. There is a need for better-quality housing for all ages. Reform and a properly funded system, including opportunity for the private sector, would be a benefit to all. The government must take this opportunity to understand the pivotal role that specialist retirement housing can play in addressing the social care crisis and why access to this housing is about serving not just the needs of older people, but those of wider society. John Tonkiss is chief executive of McCarthy Stone