Bob McDougall: Let's have a strategy today for housing older folk tomorrow

POLITICIANS by their very nature have to focus on the economic and employment issues that we face today in Scotland, and who can blame them? With these issues dominating the agenda it is easy to forget that Scotland faces longer- term demographic issues. Without a meaningful strategy to address these issues, we will face huge problems in the future.

Housing associations are at the forefront of the provision of older people's housing across Scotland. We believe that, following some initial good work by the Scottish Government, a strategy to address the future needs of older people's housing and services needs to be developed as soon as possible.

According to the General Register Office for Scotland, the number of people aged 75 and over is now projected to rise by 23 per cent between 2008 and 2018, and by 84 per cent between 2008 and 2033. These people will have increasingly complex demands. Many will, rightly, wish to stay at home, but will require access to a menu of services. For others, sheltered housing and extra-care hous-ing will be more appropriate.

Many will suffer from health conditions, such as dementia, which is on the increase. With budgets becoming tighter, these issues throw up difficult challenges and choices.

Following publication of the Scottish Government's strategy on shifting the balance of care, the priority is to support people to remain at home for as long as possible, rather than in care homes or hospital settings. This requires quite a shift in the way we fund and prioritise services for older people. It puts a far greater onus on local authorities and service providers, such as housing associations, to provide a full range of services. It also requires the ability to modify existing hous-ing stock to meet the needs of older people and for the provision of a wider range of housing for older people.

Housing associations are already meeting this challenge through the provision of a diverse range of housing and support services for older people. Throughout Scotland housing associations provide mixed developments catering for older people with independent lives, through to those who need a much higher degree of support. This support is tailored to the individual and has come a long way since the old days when there was only one model of sheltered housing.

However, given the complexity of the future needs of older people, there is a need for a clear strategy going forward, which draws on good practice and gives service providers a clear framework for the development of older people's housing and services for future years.

The Scottish Government is to be congratulated for forming a working group which has been looking carefully at the issue over the past six months, drawing on expertise from across government, the private sector and housing associations. This has now been collated into a single document, Wider Planning for an Ageing Population, which sets out the evidence base and the priorities for action.

If Scotland is to address the needs of older people's housing and support in the future, we need to consider how best to deploy our scarce financial resources. Housing associations can provide real value for money, as well as expertise, but we need the private sector and local authorities to play a strong role. However, to pull all these strands together and to ensure the investments we make are going into the most appropriate forms of housing and services, we need clear direction from the government. The older people of Scotland deserve nothing less.

• Bob McDougall is chief executive of Trust Housing Association