HLINks Weekly: Housing, Health and Social Care Latest News

News Highlights

SHAPE Advisory Group comes together to shape the programme’s future

Members of the SHAPE Advisory Group came together in Birmingham on 12–13 October for their first in-person Away Day, bringing together expertise from across housing, health, social care and related sectors to help shape the next phase of the programme.

The two-day session provided an opportunity to take stock of progress so far, look ahead to what SHAPE could achieve over the coming years, and consider how the Advisory Group can best use its collective expertise, networks and influence to support the programme.

Read more about the programme in this new guest blog from Advisory Group Chair, Professor Rose Gilroy: The time to act is now – get into shape.

Find out more at our webinar on Tuesday 27th October, when we launch the SHAPE Challenge Fund. Book your place now.

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Consultation on the supported housing licensing draft regulations opens

The government is seeking views on the technical detail of the supported housing licensing draft regulations.

The consultation closes on 10th December 2026.

• Read the full draft regulations

Housing LIN supporters pick up a trio of awards

Congratulations to a trio of Housing LIN sponsors who received awards for best in their class at this year’s HealthInvestor Seniors Housing Awards, including Anchor, PRP architects and WWA architects.

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Resource Roundup

Award winning Ossulton Court in Uxbridge: Reinterpreting the Almshouse for Later Life

Published as part of Accessible Homes Week, this new Housing LIN Case Study (No. 183) by Stephen Melvin of Atelier Architecture & Design explores how Ossulton Court, an award-winning development of 30 apartments in Uxbridge, brings together contemporary design and accessibility with the social principles of the traditional almshouse.

• Read this Case Study

Wise words: In conversation to demystify and de-stigmatise – Is this the key that unlocks development potential?

In this Housing LIN Viewpoint (No. 121), Dominic Hailey of Collado Collins Architects talks with Claire Wise, Director of Supported Housing at MTVH, about how clearer language and a simple, flexible model for supported housing could demystify the sector and unlock more small-scale development.

• Read the Viewpoint

The adaptability gap: Public perceptions of UK homes in 2026

A new Habinteg survey has found that one in five UK adults report that they or a family member experienced outcomes such as a delayed hospital discharge or a move into residential care, because a home could not meet their accessibility needs. 'The adaptability gap: Public perceptions of UK homes in 2026' reports that worry about the suitability of future housing is highest among people who have previously experienced or witnessed the impact of inaccessible homes, and uses data from the survey to estimate the substantial cost to the NHS.

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The rent can’t wait: The impact of the Local Housing Allowance freeze on older private renters

An Independent Age briefing exposes the human cost of freezing Local Housing Allowance rates since April 2024. While market rents have soared, nearly seven in ten pension-age renters receiving Housing Benefit face a shortfall between their rent and the support they receive, forcing them to cut back on essentials like heating and food, leaving them stuck in unsafe or deteriorating conditions, and fearing the prospect of homelessness.

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Expert insights

Accessible Homes - let's focus on the social case, not just the business case

In this blog, written for Habinteg’s "For Accessible Homes" campaign, Jeremy Porteus argues that accessible and adaptable homes are a social imperative as well as a financial one, highlighting the benefits for health and care, the role of technology, and how the new SHAPE programme will put co-production at its heart.

• Read this blog

What else caught our interest...

• ADASS news item: A National Care Service must be built around people and places, not institutions
• Ageing & Society article: Age-friendly cities and spatial justice: insights from seven international case study cities
• Brunelcare recruitment: Governance Assurance Project Manager
• Care Home professional news item: UK care leader Paul Newman MBE elected chair of ISO Global Committee on Ageing Societies
• Financial Times article: Retirement flats have been a miserable investment [Housing LIN’s Jeremy Porteus cited]
• Housing Digital article: Inaccessible homes could cost public purse billions
• Inside Housing comment piece: A National Care Service could be a game-changer for housing with care
• Institute of Health Equity report: A Fairer, Healthier Scotland: The Collaboration For Health Equity - Final Report
• Intergenerational England report: From a Divided Kingdom to The Age of Solidarity
• JRF report: Essential but unequal: the need for social infrastructure in every place
• Policy Connect Insight: Social Care Reform: Assistive Technology and the Future of Care
• The King’s Fund report: Equal access: a fairer system of social care support for England
• Waugh Thistleton book (for sale): Waugh Thistleton Wellbeing Report

Dates for your diary

HAPPI Hour webinars

• Dementia Across the Four Nations - Showcasing Innovation, Best Practice and Housing Readiness Across the UK on 20th October 2026, from 4pm - 5:15pm
• SHAPE Challenge Fund Launch – the shape of things to come on 27th October 2026, from 4pm - 5:15pm
• From caring places to neighbourhood health – Inspiring a new vision for adult social care on 3rd November 2026, from 4pm - 5:15pm
• Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and fire safety – taking responsibility in specialist/supported housing on 10th November 2026, from 4pm - 5pm
• Technology unplugged - Delivering digital solutions on 17th November 2026, from 4pm - 5:15pm
• Housing storeys - Planning for accessibility and adaptations on 1st December 2026, from 4pm - 5pm
• HAPPI Awareness Week showcase event on 15th December 2026, from 4pm - 5:15pm

While free to attend for Housing LIN members, spaces are limited. Reserve your place today and join us for inspiring conversations, fresh insights and engaging ideas.

• Explore the full schedule

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From needs assessments and strategy development to research, evaluation and service improvement, we provide tailored support grounded in evidence, policy insight and practical experience to shape your strategic and operational plans.

To discuss how we can help, please email consultancy@housinglin.org.uk or find out more about our Research and Advisory Services.