Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the planning system to encourage the building of integrated retirement communities.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local authorities should assess the size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups, including older people, and reflect this in their planning policies.

Plan making authorities should also set clear policies to address the housing needs of older people and, where there is an identified unmet need for specialist housing for older people, local authorities should take a positive approach to schemes that propose to meet this need, including integrated retirement communities.

The government is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report including in relation to specialist accommodation for older people.