Anchor's Chief Executive, Sarah Jones comments on today’s King's Speech.
On planning reforms and downsizing, Sarah Jones, Chief Executive at Anchor says:
Many of us find our family homes become too large, unmanageable, and unsuitable for our needs as we grow older. Yet a lack of suitable housing to downsize to means many older people can’t do that – and an increasing number of family sized homes are unavailable to younger families.
Anchor is committed to meeting demand and increasing housing options for people in later life. We are delighted that the Government is committed to creating new homes and reforming the planning and leasehold system. We would like to see included a new planning classification for housing for older people and a requirement in local plans that 10% of sites are ring fenced for age restricted housing.”
We have a strong development programme, delivering an average of at least 500 homes a year, primarily for social rent, over a rolling 10-year period. Providing social housing for people in later in life means that for those who’ve decided it’s time to downsize, Anchor has a great deal to offer.
On social care workers, Sarah Jones says:
Anchor is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer, becoming the first large care and housing provider in England to pay the ‘real living wage.’ We also invest in skills development and careers so that colleagues have the opportunity to progress through our organisations, as we value their work. Care workers deserve parity of esteem with the NHS in terms of pay and conditions and we welcome the move to a Fair Pay agreement.
With an ageing population, the future of the social care sector and the essential services we deliver has never been more important. We ask the Government to promote the social care sector as a skilled and fulfilling career path amongst young people through working with schools and colleges. We also call for the establishment of a Royal College of Social Care to recognise the professional status of the care workforce.
Helping people enjoy later life is our passion at Anchor. Together we can positively change how we age. And ensure we all not only live longer, but love living in later life.
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