Minister of Care Services Norman Lamb launched the new Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund today, which is to be administered by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Phase one will concentrate on affordable housing projects, while schemes for homes for sale will be included in the second phase and run over five years from 2013/14.

It will be managed as a separate programme to the HCA’s £1.8bn Affordable Homes Programme, and will build on the existing good practice identified by the HCA with the Department of Health and the Department for Communities.

The Fund calls for innovation in developing housing opportunities, asking local authorities, and developers to work collaboratively with health providers to identify the best local solutions.

This may well include using local authority land or existing health facilities to work with the fund to achieve the best value results can be achieved between, housing health, care and support.

Lamb said: “Most people want to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible, and as the population ages more and more of us will need housing that supports us.
“Our Fund will help create thousands of homes, providing people with more choice and an alternative to residential care.”

Phase One, launched today and open for bidding, will be for affordable housing and open to registered providers.

“Today’s announcement also opens the opportunity for providers and the private sector to submit expressions of interest that will help the HCA and the Department of Health to develop a second phase of funding, focussed on encouraging delivery of a wider range of high quality, attractive housing opportunities in the private market.

“This will in turn help a greater range of homeowners to plan positively for their future.”

The Prospectus for the Fund, which includes full details on how to bid for Phase One, can be downloaded from the HCA website. Deadline for Phase One bids is noon on 18 January 2013.