HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News
HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health, and Social Care Latest News
19 January 2026
Welcome to this week’s edition of HLINks.
We’re pleased to bring you the latest updates, opportunities and resources from across housing, health and social care. This edition includes:
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Book now! Housing LIN’s Annual Conferences 2026 – Shaping homes for health, independence and connection (with spaces filling fast)
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The 2026 Housing Design Awards, now open for submissions, celebrates excellence in HAPPI, Healthy Homes and sustainable design
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A new fire safety report on specialised housing and care homes
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HAPPI Hour webinar recordings from 2025, with updates on the forthcoming Spring/Summer 2026 series
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And a round-up of what else caught our interest, from parliamentary questions and national budgets to social prescribing, healthy homes, and the age of longevity.
Whether you’re planning ahead, catching up, or looking for inspiration, there’s plenty to explore when you network with us!
Thank you for being part of our shared learning journey and for continuing to shape the conversation with us.
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Best wishes, The Housing LIN Team |
News Highlights
Book now! Housing LIN's Annual Conferences 2026: Shaping homes for health, independence and connection
Last week, we opened registrations for this year’s Annual Conferences, Shaping Homes for Health, Independence, and Connection. Already, over half of the available spaces for both standalone events have been filled, and we are incredibly grateful to our Network for their enthusiastic response!
With heartfelt thanks to our speakers and sponsors, these two FREE flagship events bring together leaders from housing, health and social care. These events will explore cutting-edge housing innovations for older people, share progress on the SHAPE Exchange, and spotlight national and regional developments shaping healthier, more connected communities.
Find out more and register your place:
We can’t wait to see you there!
The 2026 Housing Design Awards are now open!
The 78th Housing Design Awards are open for submissions, celebrating excellence in HAPPI, Healthy Homes, and sustainable design. Schemes can enter as completed or planned. Winners will be showcased in September, following judging and site visits in spring 2026.
Resource Roundup
Fire safety: Specialised housing and care homes
Commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, this study, undertaken by PRP architects, investigates whether current design guidance effectively addresses the unique fire safety needs of retirement housing, supported housing, housing with care, and nursing homes in England.
HAPPI Hour webinars
All HAPPI Hour webinars from 2025 and beyond
Last year, we were also fortunate to host 20+ truly insightful and thought-provoking HAPPI Hour webinars with an impressive array of speakers on a range of important topics, including dementia-friendly design, data and AI, community-led housing, almshouses reimagined, diversity in housing, and more.
We’re thrilled to share recordings of all sessions, along with slides, chat transcripts, and feedback from each webinar.
We look forward to sharing exciting updates about our Spring/Summer HAPPI Hour webinar series commencing in April 2026.
What else caught our interest...
- Commons question: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Spinal Cord Injury
- Centre for Ageing Better initiative: Discover our eight steps for delivering a Take a Seat initiative in your own place
- Future of London 5 asks: Building healthy homes that meet tough housebuilding targets
- King’s Fund article: What Is Social Prescribing?
- NIHR ARC East Midlands infographic: Enhancing innovation sustainability through co-production
- Scottish Government 2026/2027 budget announcement: Scottish Budget 2026-27
- Time Magazine feature: The Age of Longevity
Want to know what we're working on at Housing LIN?
From sector-leading research with universities to creating tools that shape organisational 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.