![New ‘handyman’ repair service will help elderly stay at home longer New ‘handyman’ repair service will help elderly stay at home longer](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/politics/2021/11/30/TELEMMGLPICT000188786204_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?impolicy=logo-overlay)
A “home improvement” service is being set up to make repairs and adjustments to senior citizens’ homes so that they can stay at home as part of the social care plans presented on Wednesday.
The Telegraph estimates that hundreds of millions of pounds will also be pumped into new assisted housing, which will help local authorities provide greater care and housing options for eligible residents.
Assisted living and assisted living are seen as essential to helping people live longer independently in the community and often include a mix of housing, care, and care services.
On Tuesday, Whitehall sources said the plans would also include a new “hands-on service” to make repairs and changes to people’s homes in the event their mobility or health deteriorates.
It comes after Amanda Pritchard, the executive director of NHS England, recently suggested that craftsmen and women could be dispatched by the councils to quickly install handrails and other gadgets to prevent accidents and ease pressure on healthcare.
Councils are also expected to benefit from more grant funding to help finance housing adjustments, with the government’s September command paper promising an increase in the grant program for disabled facilities.
The program allows residents with disabilities to apply for grants for extending doors and installing ramps, installing stairlifts and bathrooms on the ground floor, and adjusting heating or lighting controls to make it easier to use.
A number of local authorities have also set up home improvement offices that provide technical and administrative services to residents who need improvements or repairs.
In addition to housing investments, a government source said tens of millions of pounds would be poured into improving the technology used in social services.
The actions are seen as critical to the government’s long-term vision to transform the country’s social welfare system, as ministers are concerned that thousands of people are using up their assets to pay for full-time dormitories when they could be supported at home.
Gillian Keegan, Minister of Nursing, is expected to set out the plans in a new social paper in Parliament on Wednesday, which will also outline how the £ 5.4 billion additional funds raised by the new health and social tax will be to be invested.