Michael Voges, Executive Director of ARCO
The representative body for the housing-with-care sector, ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators), has today launched a new Advisory Council to help shape the sector’s future at a pivotal moment for housing and social care reform.
The ARCO Advisory Council, which brings together leading sector experts in the key disciplines relevant to the sector, will meet regularly and make recommendations to the ARCO Board, with its first meeting held on Monday 5th October.
ARCO have created the Council because there has never been a more important time for drawing on wide-ranging expertise in the housing-with-care sector. Provision of housing-with-care is geared for a period of rapid expansion, with the legislative and regulatory framework for the sector set to change considerably over the next decade. This increases the need for specific advisory capability from a number of key areas, including legal services (Trowers & Hamlins, Gowling, Pinsent Masons and BCLP), consultancy (Carterwood, CBRE, JLL, Knight Frank, Savills, Whiteley Consulting), recruitment and people (Badenoch & Clark), sales (Sherpa), research (Promatura International), design & build (Castleoak), architecture (nicol thomas and Urban Edge), technology (Tunstall) and investment (Octopus Real Estate).
The Advisory Council will focus much of its attention on helping to shape the policy, investment and operational landscape for housing-with-care. While the Government is currently consulting on changes to the planning system and will next year push ahead with social care reform, ARCO is urging political leaders to act now to expand housing-with-care.
The representative body has recently urged all three main parties to immediately support the sector so that older people are not left behind again. Despite successfully shielding older residents, providing high-quality care and support on site, improving health and wellbeing, and saving billions for the NHS and social care system, a meagre 0.6% of over-65s currently have the opportunity to live in housing-with-care.
ARCO’s Vision 2030 is for 250,000 people to live in housing-with-care within ten years, which would bring savings of £5.6bn for the health and social care systems, and generate turnover of over £70bn.
Michael Voges, Executive Director of ARCO, said:
“It is incredibly exciting to welcome such a wide-ranging group of experts and leading voices to the ARCO Advisory Council.
“By pooling knowledge and insights on law, the customer experience, , design, technology, healthcare and much more, ARCO will be in a much stronger position to help the housing-with-care sector to flourish.
“Our country is at an absolutely critical moment in deciding how we best care for and support older people. More of the same is not going to suffice, and we urgently need to expand models of housing and care that keep older people safe and secure, while boosting independence, health and wellbeing.
“I very much look forward to working with all of our extremely talented Advisory Council members to achieve the change we all want to see for housing-with-care.”
Nick Sanderson, Chair of ARCO and CEO of Audley Villages, said:
“The formation of the ARCO Advisory Council is further proof that our sector is maturing. When housing-with-care got going more than 20 years ago, good advice was hard to come by as things were still so new.
“Today, we’re incredibly fortunate to be working with colleagues who believe in the potential of the Retirement Community model and have developed deep sector knowledge: we are fortunate to have them on the ARCO Advisory Council, and the ARCO Board looks forward to a collaborative working relationship in the future.”