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Social services and health must take into account older people's housing needs when they are assessed, the government's policy lead on the single assessment process (SAP) has urged.

The Department of Health's Ray Warburton last week told a conference on the single assessment process that guidance would be published later this year emphasising the importance of joint commissioning.

He said that housing's role "would not be an add-on" but would stand in its own right. The SAP is due to be introduced in 2004 and will bring together agencies working with older people.