Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department provides local planning authorities on supporting (a) elderly and (b) disabled people with their housing needs.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require supported housing, and reflect this in planning policies. We also published guidance in 2019 to help councils put policies in place to achieve this.

In addition, as part of our recent consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed additional wording which would explicitly set out that local authorities should plan for the needs of older people, including for retirement, housing with care and care homes. We will be publishing a government response to the consultation in due course.

The Government has established an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce and asked it to examine how to improve house options for people in later life and to make recommendations to Ministers. The taskforce is expected to make its report to Ministers in the spring of 2024.