TWO of the West Midlands’ leading housing and care organisations called on the government to back housing and care choices for older people by protecting vital funding streams.

Members from Midland Heart and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust were joined by Baroness Julia Neuberger and Lord Morris of Handsworth at the House of Lords to outline how funding needs to be ring-fenced to ensure older people have access to high quality care and housing.

Lord Morris urged the government to protect local authority care funding, powerful financial support from the Homes and Communities Agency and Department of Health, and lifeline benefits such as Attendance Allowance.

He said: “The number of older people in our society is growing and so will the demand on housing and care. People should have choices that promise a quality of life which they can look forward to with optimism as they grow older.

“If vital funding streams are lost, older people will suffer the harsh reality of the consequences. Housing, independent living and the right level of care all add up to good quality of life.”

Recent findings of a Supporting People survey carried out by the Association of Adult Social Service found 82 per cent of local authority commissioners said that “little or no protection” would be given to their supported housing programmes when budgets are set this year.