Homes warning for PM
RISHI Sunak was warned by a senior Tory that failing to build new homes is an existential threat for the Conservatives after rebels forced him to delay planning reforms in England.
Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke said the party’s vote could collapse if the Government does not help people onto the housing ladder with a building spree.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt acknowledged the difficulties faced by people trying to buy their first home and said planning rules often set “local communities against the national need to build more houses”.
The PM pulled a vote on legislation that would set a target of building 300,000 homes a year when dozens of Tories threatened to rebel. Downing Street insisted it stands by the manifesto commitment but appeared to concede it would be missed.
older people, and to achieve this we must continually review our offer and respond to changing needs and expectations.
“We have previously committed to modernising our residential care provision, and already delivered two state-ofthe-art extra care schemes which are much-loved in Aberaman and Graig.
“The current nine council care homes offer a very good quality of care from dedicated staff, but the majority of the buildings were built more than 40 years ago and not designed to meet current needs.
“New facilities such as extra care are are built to be dementia-friendly with larger spaces to support mobility, as well as ensuite facilities, which many of our current homes do not have.
“There has also been a significant increase in surplus beds at our care homes – with 184 vacancies in comparison to just eight in 2016. This is a national trend, exacerbated by the pandemic and only expected to continue.
“There is now a far greater demand for nursing and specialist placements, as well as domiciliary care for people who wish to live in their own homes.
“It’s clear that doing nothing in response to all of these factors is not an option, and officers have therefore brought forward a preferred option for cabinet’s consideration.”