Housing Choices Discussion Paper 1

Through our work across the UK with older people, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems it has become clear that despite the range of housing options that exists for people with support needs, there is still an over reliance on traditional forms of housing and support such as residential or nursing care. In order to stimulate debate about the continued over reliance and possible increase in use of residential care, and to encourage more serious exploration and consideration of alternative options, NDTi is publishing a series of discussion papers ‘Housing Choices: Exploring and comparing the characteristics of housing and support arrangements for people with care and support needs’.

As the first part of the Housing Choices Discussion Series we have published Paper 1 which discusses the evidence for the cost or cost-effectiveness of housing and support options. The paper provides a summary of the evidence available on the cost-effectiveness of residential care and other housing and support options and highlights some significant limitations in the evidence available. The paper can be accessed here.

We welcome comments and views on any of the points raised in this paper from commissioners and providers of housing and support (in all its forms), people who use services and their families (and representative organisations), academics and policy makers. In particular, we are interested in knowing:

• Are you aware of any research (published or unpublished) not included here about the cost or cost-effectiveness of either residential care or the alternatives that can inform this debate?
• Whether you would draw similar of different conclusions to those articulated here from the evidence that we have described in this paper?

Please post any comments here.

This Discussion Paper is paper 1 of 4 in a series of discussion papers ‘Housing Choices: Exploring and comparing the characteristics of housing and support arrangements for people with care and support needs’.

Paper 2 was published in February 2017 and is available to read and discuss here.

Paper 3 was published in April 2017 and is available to read and discuss here

The next paper in the Housing Choices Discussion Series will be:

• Paper 4: Policy Recommendations (May 2017) - we will be inviting comments and responses to each paper through an online forum with the intention of encouraging debate on this increasingly significant subject. The debate generated will be used to inform a final position paper with recommendations for policy and practice development. If sufficient interest is generated, NDTi will also host a roundtable event to take this forward.