A new national dementia strategy. A joint ministerial roundtable. The First Minister personally intervening to ask why housing isn’t being addressed. These are encouraging signs, but ten years after CIH Scotland first called for housing to be recognised as central to dementia care, we are still making the case. Something has to change.

Currently, over one million people in Scotland are aged 65 and over, with the number of people aged 75 and over expected to increase by over 300,000 in the next 20 years. While advances in healthcare and living conditions mean that people are living for longer, they are not necessarily living in good health. Much more can be done to support people to live well in later life.

It is now estimated that one in three people will develop dementia in their lifetime, which means that whatever your role is, whether you work in specialist or mainstream housing, you will be working with tenants and residents who are living with dementia. We know that the majority of people want to stay in their own home for as long as possible, and the Scottish government has committed to this – but are the right support structures in place to make this a reality?

The current approach is not sustainable

COSLA has stated that an additional £750 million is required just to protect existing social care services, with costs of service delivery increasing due to inflation, increasing wages and increasing demand. It’s clear that the current approach is unaffordable and unsustainable. We need a new way of working. 

A more joined up and proactive approach is essential to supporting people to live well with dementia, as well as an understanding of the role of housing practitioners and investment in prevention and early intervention. Accessible homes, access to support and more specialist accommodation like housing with care ensures that people can maintain their independence for longer, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and costly residential care. The outcomes are better for individuals and provide better value for money. 

Research published in 2025, which included in-depth analysis of housing support provided in a sheltered housing development in Scotland, showed that for every £1 invested, housing support generated at least £4.85 in benefits. There is a clear need to focus more on partnership working and preventative spend.  

CIH Scotland first published research on housing and dementia ten years ago – calling for recognition of the vital role of housing in supporting people to live well with dementia, so how much has changed?

A new dementia strategy

Responsibility for setting the approach to dementia sits within the Scottish government’s mental health directorate. While the previous dementia strategy included the commitment to support people with dementia to live at home or in a homely setting, the content of the strategy and the actions barely mentioned the housing sector. The intention was good, but the links with housing weren’t there.

Following our work on highlighting the role of housing, including co-chairing the National Housing and Dementia Forum to inform the development of a new national dementia strategy, there are signs of progress.

Everyone’s Story, the new national dementia strategy published in 2023, explicitly recognises the role of housing. It references the need to ensure people who are diagnosed with dementia have access to information about housing options, acknowledges housing staff as part of the workforce which needs to be better informed and better connected, and calls for a more proactive and preventative approach to adaptations.

These are all welcome aims, but two years into the implementation of the new strategy, there’s still work to be done.

Working across government departments

Beyond the national strategy, housing has now been recognised at the highest level, with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney asking civil servants to take a closer look at how housing is being addressed through the dementia strategy action plan. This led to a joint ministerial roundtable on housing and dementia hosted by the cabinet secretary for housing and the minister for social care and mental wellbeing at the University of Stirling in February.

Cross departmental working like this is still quite a rare occurrence and was reflected on by many of the participants in the room, who welcomed representation from both housing and health and social care. Whether this will result in tangible actions is yet to be seen as the strategy action plan has been on hold over the election period.

Ten years on from our first call to action, we will continue to champion the role of housing – and we look to the new government to ensure that commitment is matched with the action people living with dementia deserve.

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Access CIH Scotland’s Housing and Dementia Framework and resources on good practice here.

Become a dementia friend – Alzheimer Scotland offer free sessions online or in person to raise awareness about dementia and the small things you can do that make a big difference. Find out more and sign up online.