A new consultation from Westmorland and Furness Council is exploring how older residents want to live as they age – and the role technology, home adaptations and community support could play.
Cumbria council seeks residents’ views on technology and housing for ageing population
Westmorland and Furness Council has launched a public consultation to understand how older residents want to live as they age, with housing, independence and technology expected to play a growing role in future care services.
The initiative, called “A place called home: your living choices in later life,” invites residents across Furness, South Lakeland and Eden to share their views on where they would prefer to live and what kind of support they might need later in life. The Community Conversation runs from 9 March to 30 March and will feed into the council’s long-term strategy for adult social care.
Council staff will be visiting community venues and supermarkets across the region to speak with residents directly. People can also contribute through an online survey, alongside a separate questionnaire aimed at organisations that support older people locally.
The exercise comes as councils across the UK grapple with the challenge of supporting an ageing population while managing tight budgets and rising demand for services.
Planning for an older population
In Westmorland and Furness, the number of residents aged 65 and over is expected to rise significantly over the next two decades. The council estimates the figure will increase by around 28%, growing from 58,500 people in 2021 to about 75,000 by 2043. At the same time, the number of people living with advanced dementia is also expected to rise.
Local leaders say this demographic shift will place pressure on existing services, particularly residential care homes, making it essential to rethink how support is delivered.
Councillor Patricia Bell, the council’s Cabinet member for Adults, Health and Care, said decisions about housing are often among the most significant choices people face later in life.
“Some of the most important and difficult care decisions to be made as you get older are about housing – where you will live and how you can retain your independence for as long as possible,” she said.
The council wants to better understand what independence means to residents and how aware people are of the different types of housing available for older adults.
Supporting people to remain at home
A key focus of the consultation is how people can stay in their own homes for as long as possible.
This includes practical support such as home adaptations and assistive equipment, but also the growing use of care technology to help people live safely and independently. Across the UK care sector, tools such as fall detection sensors, remote health monitoring and digital care records are increasingly being used to support people living at home.
Local authorities are investing more heavily in these forms of home care technology as part of a preventative approach to care. The idea is that earlier support and better monitoring can help people avoid hospital admissions or delays in leaving hospital.
Organisations including NHS England have highlighted the role digital health tools can play in supporting people closer to home and easing pressure on hospitals.
Westmorland and Furness already operates a community equipment service that supplies thousands of aids and adaptations each year to residents who need additional support.
Alternatives to traditional residential care
Another area the council wants feedback on is housing options that sit somewhere between independent living and moving into a care home.
These can include sheltered housing or extra care housing, where residents have their own accommodation but can access on-site support when needed. Such models are increasingly seen as an important part of modern social care systems because they allow people to maintain independence while still receiving help.
Councillor Bell said the council believes there should be more options available for residents whose needs have increased but who do not require full-time residential care.
“If you can no longer live safely at home then the only option doesn’t have to be moving to a residential care home,” she said. “We think there needs to be more affordable specialist housing and care options available between your own home and going into a care home.”
Many of these developments are now being designed with technology built in from the start, from digital alarm systems to monitoring tools that allow carers to respond more quickly if someone needs help.
Funding pressures and the search for new approaches
Like most councils in England, Westmorland and Furness faces financial constraints as demand for adult social care continues to grow.
Adult social care already represents one of the largest areas of spending for local authorities. In Westmorland and Furness, the service will have a budget of around £101 million in 2026–27 – roughly one third of the council’s overall budget.
The council’s in-house care services employ more than 1,000 staff and support more than 4,000 residents each year. Services range from reablement support that helps people regain independence after illness or injury to residential care homes and community equipment provision.
Bell said the funding pressures mean the council must look carefully at how services are delivered in the future.
“It is even more important we look at innovative ways of working and new models of care,” she said, adding that the authority wants to focus its resources on services the independent care market may struggle to provide alone.
What happens next
The feedback gathered through the Community Conversation will help inform future plans for adult social care services in the area.
Following the consultation and additional research, the council’s Cabinet is expected to review the findings in July before considering possible options for the future of its care services. A wider public consultation on any proposed changes is expected to follow.
For the wider UK care sector, the discussion reflects a broader shift already under way. Councils are increasingly exploring how technology, housing design and community support can work together to help older people remain independent for longer.
As populations age and pressure on care services grows, the answers emerging from consultations like this could help shape how home care and community health services evolve across the country.
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