Big bang approach to extra care housing
The ageing population is growing fast and Warwickshire County Council is determined to offer the next generation of older people more choice about how and where they live.
Plans are being made to build 20 extra care housing developments across the county over the next few years, allowing older people to live independently in their own self-contained homes, with optional communal facilities and the reassurance of 24-hour care and support available as, when and if needed.
The Care and Choice Accommodation Programme (CACAP) was set up in 2007 to review care homes and explore alternatives to traditional residential care for older people and younger adults with disabilities.
Now the CACAP team wants to simplify and speed up its extra care housing plans by appointing a single partner organisation to deliver all 20 extra care schemes countywide. This ‘big bang’ approach has proved successful elsewhere and will be considered by Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet members when they meet on October 14.
John Bolton, Interim Director of Adult Services at Warwickshire County Council, explained: “The current arrangement means holding individual mini-competitions between approved housing and care providers for each site. However, a separate tender for one partner to deliver 20 schemes could potentially yield economies of scale if approved by Cabinet.”
John Bolton said CACAP’s target was a minimum of 500 affordable Extra Care Housing units in place or planned in Warwickshire by 2013 with a target of 20 schemes to be finished or approved for construction by the end of 2015.Simplifying the contract arrangements would take time to organise initially, but would reap benefits later on.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio-holder for Adult, Health and Community Services, said: “We would like to see all 20 extra care developments finished or approved for construction by the end of 2015. Simplifying the contract process should help us meet that deadline.
"Extra care housing offers older people and younger adults with disabilities more choice, control and independence. So the sooner we can complete the programme the better.”
For more information, visit: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/careandchoice.