HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News

Sector News and Announcements

Reflecting on last week's Housing LIN Cymru Symposium – “Making Wales a Great Place to Grow Old”

What an inspiring day! Thank you to our co-chairs, Joanne Kirrane and Jeremy Porteus, and to all speakers, including Max Hampton (Design Commission for Wales), Dr Sam Clark, and Professor Juliet Davis (Cardiff University School of Architecture), for sharing insights, innovation, and passion shaping housing, care, and communities for ageing at last week's Housing LIN Cymru Symposium. 

• Read the full story

Inspiring conversations at the Future Leaders Programme

Last week's Future Leaders Programme online session brought together a vibrant group of emerging leaders, innovators, and changemakers for an afternoon of learning and inspiration.

Thanks to Louise Cannon (UnLtd – The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs) and Maff Potts (Camerados) for their insights, energy, and stories, and to Sovereign Network Group's Sarah Mitton and Andrew Cooper for supporting this transformative programme in social leadership.

• Read on

Have your say in a DHSC / FarrPoint Telecare Survey

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with FarrPoint to build their evidence base in light of the risks to telecare users from the digital phone switchover.

This work aims to better understand how telecare is delivered across England and measure how risks to telecare users are changing as we approach the January 2027 deadline for the switchover, including councils, telecare providers and housing providers.

Please complete the survey by 19 November 2025.

• Have your say

Launch of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036

Last week saw the launch of guidance on Homes England’s and the GLA’s 10 year Social and Affordable Homes Programmes.

The £39bn programme will give housing associations and strategic partners, including Mayors, greater certainty over the capital funding they will have available to build new social and affordable homes in thriving communities.

• Read on

Two retirement living schemes win awards

We are delighted that, at the 2025 British Homes Awards, PRP Architects’ Audley Wycliffe Park won Later Living Design of the Year, and Coffey Architects’ Pegasus Cobham Bowers took the Community Living Award, celebrating excellence in retirement and community housing.

• Read on

Resource Roundup

Trapped by Safety? Fire Doors, Accessibility and Policy Tensions in Housing

A new report from the University of Stirling, Trapped by Safety? Fire Doors, Accessibility and Policy Tensions in Housing reveals how well-intentioned fire safety measures can leave older and disabled residents effectively trapped in their homes.

Watch our HAPPI Hour webinar, Safe by Design: Fire Safety in Housing, on fire regulations, design approaches, and resident safety, marking three years of the ISPA project.

• Read report

Housing LIN celebrates Occupational Therapy Week

Last week's Occupational Therapy Week celebrated the life-changing impact of occupational therapists, highlighting their role in supporting wellbeing, independence, and accessible housing.

From advising on new builds and adaptations to promoting inclusive design, OTs help people live safely at every stage of life. Thank you to the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and TACT for championing this vital work.

• Explore resources

Expert Insights

The unfinished journey of accessible housing in the UK

Written by Christina McGill, Director of Social Impact & External Affairs at Habinteg, this new Housing LIN guest blog — the latest in our Disability Discrimination Act series — explores the evolution of accessible housing in the UK and the ongoing challenges faced by disabled people.

• Read blog

What else caught our interest...

• ARCO: Housing-with-care operators call for a national development policy for older people's housing
• Centre for Ageing Better: Beulah’s story – How £13,000 of home improvements transformed the life of a 93-year-old blind woman
• Centre for Ageing Better comment: Build Baby Build, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater
• Healthy Homes Hub article: How I Use My Direct Housing Experience to Deliver Better Outcomes with GIS
• Housing Today comment piece: New towns taskforce report lacks a strategy for creating accessible housing for disabled people
• ILC-UK Index: Introducing the UK Better Lives Index
• Intergenerational England blog: An Intergenerational Community is a Thriving Community - Places for People
• JMIR Mental Health article: An Overview of Reviews on Telemedicine and Telehealth in Dementia Care: Mixed Methods Synthesis
• King’s Fund article: What is neighbourhood health?
• National Audit Office report: Improving local areas through developer funding
• NIHR: Community-led support programme making a positive difference in adult social care across England
• Paul Smith blog: From Adaptations to Modifications: A Lesson from Australia
• Savills blog: How neuroinclusive design and sensory built environments are shaping the future of planning
• Scottish Housing News: Hanover launches manifesto to build a ‘future-ready’ Scotland and save £500m a year
• TCPA review: Review of Homes England’s Healthy Homes Standard: Our homes are not islands
• UK Cohousing Network brief: Consultant Brief: Designing A Service For Creating Cohousing Communities

Dates for your diary

Autumn/Winter HAPPI Hour webinars

We’re now five sessions into our exciting HAPPI Hour webinar series, and there’s so much more to come! Join expert-led discussions on key topics in housing and ageing. Don’t miss your chance to be part of it!

Browse the full programme and register your free place today:

• 30 Years On: Reflecting on the Disability Discrimination Act and the road ahead on 11th November 2025, 3.30pm - 5pm
• Homes Built Together: Exploring Community-Led Housing & Cohousing on 18th November 2025, 4pm - 5pm
• Housing LIN Scotland Presents on 25th November 2025, 4pm - 5pm
• What the Housing Strategy means for supported and specialist housing on 2nd December 2025, 4pm - 5pm
• Just added: Using data and AI to transform future housing and care at home on 4th December 2025, 4pm - 5pm 
• Becoming a Dementia-Friendly Organisation – Back to Basics on 9th December 2025, 4pm - 5pm
• Designing for Tomorrow: Future-Proof, Age-Friendly Homes on 16th December 2025, 4pm - 5pm

Want to know what we're working on?

From cutting-edge research with universities to creating tools that shape policy and practice, we’re driving innovation in the sector. Find out more!

We also offer tailored support to help you navigate today’s complex challenges, whether strategic or operational.

Let’s work together! Please email us at consultancy@housinglin.org.uk or explore our award-winning Research and Advisory Services to learn more.