Ageing Better report reveals economic benefits of investing in accessible home improvements
A new report by the Centre for Ageing Better has revealed how a small investment in improving the safety, heating and accessibility of the nation’s poorest-quality homes could have substantial economic benefits.
Spending just £625 million a year to improve the safety, heating and accessibility of homes would help remove potentially fatal hazards and improve the quality of 520,000 homes a year, according to a new report by the Centre for Ageing Better and the cross-party think tank Demos, supported by Dunhill Medical Trust.
Currently, there are 3.5 million homes in England that pose a serious threat to their occupants’ health and safety because of trip hazards, lack of adequate facilities, and dangerous levels of cold and damp. Almost one in seven homes headed by someone aged 65 or over is classed as non-decent.
The expenditure, equivalent to less than a third of the £1.9 billion the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities handed back last month because of a lack of projects to fund, would deliver a 16-fold return on investment for the government.
The newly-published report recommends a number of policies to help facilitate and fund a massive uptake in home improvement work nationwide including developing a national network of local Good Home Hubs to provide a local one-stop shop for a range of home improvement, retrofit and energy efficiency schemes.
It supports the creation of a robust and enforceable housing standard while offering tax relief on stamp duty or council tax to help stimulate demand and create incentives. According to Ageing Better, replicating Covid loan guarantees could leverage investment for home improvement works without excessively risking public funds.
The report also suggest widening the remit of Homes England beyond house building to also cover housing quality and developing a cross-government housing strategy with a minister responsible for implementation.
Expanding the eligibility of the Disabled Facilities Grant into a Home Adaptations Grant to cover a wider range of at-risk households would also help, it argues.
The report outlines the need for the government to focus on policies that have the biggest multiplier effects because of low growth and high public debt. By delivering substantial economic growth through new jobs, apprenticeships and investment opportunities, reducing pressure on health and social care services and helping meet Net Zero commitments, home improvement has the potential to have one of the biggest multiplier factors of any government policy.
Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “Stimulating a mass expansion of home improvement work nationwide would mean hundreds of thousands of people happier and healthier in homes that are safe and energy efficient.
“It would mean reducing the strain on health and social care services. It would mean stimulating economic growth by creating new jobs, skills, apprenticeships and investment opportunities while saving hard-pressed households money.
“It would deliver towards Net Zero obligations without financially penalising the individual or asking for significant lifestyle sacrifices. Few policy options open to government can offer so much for so little.”
The newly published report highlights a wide range of research that highlights the high cost-benefit value of focussing on home improvement. It revealed that for every £1 invested in home improvement and repairs, £2 would be generated in economic benefits – a ratio much higher than house building.
Increasing investment has the potential to be valuable job creator, the report found, while access to good quality housing can only help improve health and wellbeing and help drive higher levels of productivity.
Andrew O’Brien, Director of Policy and Impact at Demos, said: “At a time when politicians are scrambling for policies that can unlock economic growth, addressing the poor quality of British homes is a political no-brainer.
“Investing in home improvement means more jobs, higher wages and life-changing apprenticeships. It’s a political lever that can turbo charge productivity and ensure greater value for the taxpayer.”
Susan Kay, Chief Executive at the Dunhill Medical Trust, added: “In the current economic environment, to be serious about the Healthy Ageing Challenge’s ambition of giving everyone five extra years of healthy life means investing in those things that will give the greatest return on investment.
“Investing in the transformation of the existing housing stock to provide high quality housing for all is one of those things that will generate long term dividends, not just for individuals and their families, but also for our NHS, social care and others.”
Earlier this year, a report by disability charity Leonard Cheshire revealed that disabled adults across the UK are struggling with inaccessible homes, with one in four respondents with housing accessibility needs reporting difficulties in getting into their own homes – an estimated one million working-age disabled people across the UK.
