Charity calls for housing strategy input

Age Scotland has responded to the consultation on ‘Age, Home & Community', the Scottish Government's national Older People's Housing Strategy.

The Charity's contribution to the development of the Strategy was formulated in conjunction with our Local Housing Panels, made up from our member groups and individuals.

This access to the views and experiences of Scotland's older people significantly strengthened the content of our response.

The Strategy addresses many of the key concerns of our Panels and while it has a remarkable potential to make a positive contribution to older people's housing, additional work is required to ensure that it achieves its full potential.  In this regard Age Scotland believes that the Strategy must:

Compel local authorities to comply with the targets and objectives in the Strategy
Establish specific targets for Government within the time span of the Strategy
Make adequate provision of information and support on housing options across all tenures
Ensure the existing housing stock meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, and that all new build housing is fit for purpose
Expand the Care & Repair network and enshrine the provision of small repairs services for all tenures into the remit of local authorities

The deadline for the Government's consultation is 30 September 2011.  Age Scotland is seeking endorsement of its response from our members and the wider public.  We feel this will add weight to our demands and encourage the Government to incorporate our recommendations in the final Strategy, due for release in December.  A template endorsement letter can be downloaded here, which you can send to the Scottish Government in support of our submission.

Visit our Housing Policy page for more information and to download the template response letter.