What action it is taking to encourage the development of more (a) sheltered and (b) very sheltered housing units.

All local authorities publish Local Housing Strategies (LHSs). They supplement their LHS with an annual Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out how they plan to prioritise for delivery of objectives set out in their LHS. These are the key documents for setting out priorities for Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) at the local level. The SHIPs provide the basis for targeting the AHIP and aid prioritisation where there are competing demands on resources. Any potential project for sheltered and very sheltered housing units would require to be identified through this process.
As part of the Scottish Government''s AHIP, we fund a range of provision for clients with particular housing needs. These include the provision of sheltered and very sheltered housing, the provision of supported accommodation and adaptations to allow people to stay in their own home when circumstances change. These new homes are generally required to meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, which ensure that the housing is designed to allow it to continue as far as possible to meet the changing needs of the occupant.
The Scottish Government also supports the Telecare initiative to enable people to live at home for longer as their needs change, and the Supporting People Demonstrator projects (through the Scottish Government Joint Improvement Team).