The relationship between the provision of health and social care support is critical to spinal cord injured people.  Aspire therefore welcomes the Chancellor’s announcements in his Autumn Statement regarding increasing investment in social care and pressing ahead with the integration of health and social care services.  For many spinal cord injured people, however, the ability to lead  healthy and fulfilling independent lives depends on a three legged stool of support, in which high quality accessible housing plays as critical a role as good quality health and social care provision. 

Aspire therefore warmly welcomes the commitment to specialist housing for older and disabled people.  We are hopeful that a significant proportion of this can be directed towards building more wheelchair accessible homes, and offer a genuine prospect of a return to normal family life for the many spinal cord injured people and their families currently enduring unsuitable accommodation. 

We do, however, have some concern about the Chancellor’s Housing Benefit cap, and any consequential impact this may have on the size of new build social homes.  Aspire is concerned that should this prove to be the case, the much needed increase in the supply of accessible homes will be further undermined.  We can only hope that the Chancellor’s evident commitment towards older and disabled people’s housing will guarantee that such a contradictory outcome doesn’t come to pass.