Mr Stewart said the Scottish Government would make changes to Scotland’s shared equity home-ownership schemes, allowing older people access to funding which has to date favoured first-time rather than last-time buyers.

Andrew Prendergast, chair of Vivarium, said: “We welcome this news as a sign that things are starting to change. There are 5 years left to run on the Scottish Government’s strategy and there is an awful lot still to deliver on new housing. Options of appropriate housing for older people in Scotland lag way behind other countries and this has a significant detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of older Scots, as well as impeding the housing market.

“80 per cent of commercial retirement housing in Scotland is produced by one company and is unaffordable to most, while financial restrictions on affordable housing limit access for older people. One answer promoted in the Government’s Strategy is community-led housing, which provides the majority of housing for older people in countries like Denmark and can deliver strong health and social benefits, though a mix of public and private finance.

“The Government’s strategy commits to support models of co-production, through pilot projects and innovation, but recently community groups in Glasgow and Fife have struggled to deliver projects without the support from government that is needed to deliver change in the housing sector. We hope the recent announcement signals a move beyond removing some of the current policy restrictions on older people, to enabling the transformative change that is heralded in the government’s strategy and for which there is such a demand for among older Scots.”