In a new report, the think tank urges the UK government to exclude older people’s housing from proposals to cap Housing Benefit for people in sheltered housing.

Sheltered housing provides independent, self-contained housing for older people, with wardens, alarms or other on-site staff to provide 24-hour support and security.

Demos identifies the savings to NHS and emergency and social care services from sheltered housing as at least:

Britain’s ageing population is imposing significant costs on the NHS and social care providers, with Demos finding that each year, 600,000 older people attend A&E following a fall, and around a third of them are admitted to hospital. Every year 300,000 people over 65 are hospitalised for a hip fracture.

In light of these statistics, Demos highlights how sheltered housing presents a very effective resource to tackle the primary drivers of health and care costs among older people – namely, poorly insulated houses, falls and loneliness.

Claudia Wood, chief executive at Demos, said: “Sheltered housing for older people is a low-cost, high-impact service which saves the state huge sums of money. Considering the NHS is currently under enormous financial pressure, capping the Housing Benefit of those who live there seems to be another self-defeating benefit cut.”