Our work Projects North Action North Action Care & Repair England closed in April 2022 This website is now an archive ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Housing action to address inequalities & disadvantage in the North of England Care & Repair England’s dedicated North officer played a key role in the development and promotion of crucial, practical housing repair and adaptation services, undertaking outreach to older people in greatest need e.g. housing options events to raise awareness of housing help, building links with the health sector to reach older patients whose health would benefit from housing improvements, and highlighting the housing issues faced by older people living in the left behind areas of the North. Why Housing Action in the North of England? Whilst many older people across England face housing difficulties, the highest concentrations of low-income households, non-decent homes and social disadvantage are in parts of the North of England. Over a million older people in the North of England are living in poor housing, many in homes that are in urgent need of repair. The majority (78%) are owner occupiers. “The biggest and more urgent challenge lies less with social housing and more with improving the condition of private housing, especially the homes of older owner occupiers.” The Hidden Costs of Poor Quality Housing in the North (2018) Smith Institute/ Northern Housing Consortium This legacy of poor housing impacts on health inequalities and reduced life expectancy. Men in the 10% most deprived areas of England can expect to live 9.3yrs less than those in the 10% most affluent areas (7.5yrs less for women) The gap in healthy life expectancy is even greater – 19yrs gap for both men and women The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has further widened these inequalities In addition to disrepair problems, many thousands of older people are struggling to get in and out of the bath or climb the stairs but don’t know about (or can’t afford) simple home adaptations that could transform their lives. Many others are too afraid of being swindled by a builder to organise essential home maintenance. Our North officer worked hard to retain the remaining practical housing services that help older people repair and adapt their homes and to stimulate expansion and adoption of best practice in the areas where help is limited.