Julienne Meyer, Professor Emerita of Nursing for Older People at City University, London and Chair of the Government-appointed independent Taskforce on Older People’s Housing, visited on 12th March. She met with our team, the Margaret Court Board of Directors and Owners to find out more about our unique model.

This independent Taskforce, led by Professor Meyer, includes directors from charities like Age UK and the chair of the Home Builders Federation, to local government leaders, CEOs of housing associations and professors on health and long-term care. The objective is to bring together independent experts who will help transform housing options for older people.

The Taskforce focus is to ensure the government is offering a range of housing options for older people. This will ensure the housing market works for older people, now and in the future, and gives them greater choice in where they choose to live.

Taskforce members meet regularly, focusing on three main priorities.

• People
  Seeking to develop a deep understanding of the needs, preferences and concerns of older people, their families and carers.
• Products
  Examining what “good” dedicated older people’s housing should look like in future, in terms of the type of housing, the design and fabric of the home, and the application of technology. This includes looking at consumer protection.
• Places
  Focusing on how to bring together the levers and partners in local systems to make change happen at the local level.

During her visit Professor Meyer informed us that she has had the opportunity to visit numerous retirement schemes within the UK and abroad, none of which none offer what we provide. What sets our model apart is that our Courts operate on a not-for-profit basis and have their own management company. She was thrilled to find that Retirement Security actively encourages Owners to make their own decisions and provides support services to the democratically elected Directors who live at the court.

Following a very successful day we were invited to meet with Government officials from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the Department for Health & Social Care, who are now considering ways in which they can scale-up nationally what we have so successfully achieved over many years.

Retirement Security will feature in the final report that the Taskforce will be submitting to Ministers this July.