Prime Minister Andy Burnham has vowed to “put everything” into overhauling the adult social care system in England, warning that the National Health Service (NHS) “will collapse” otherwise. He is set to meet other politicians today to discuss plans to tackle the crisis.
Meeting and political attendance
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch cannot attend the meeting on Wednesday, July 29, but shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew will go in her place. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey will join via Zoom.
Mr Burnham has repeatedly said he will use “whatever political capital I have” to fix the system. Previous governments, he argued, have seen social care reform as “too risky, too difficult, and too complicated”.
How adult social care works in England
According to analysis by the King’s Fund health charity, there were 889,000 people receiving publicly funded long-term care in the year to March 2025—576,000 aged over 65 and 313,000 aged 18 to 64.
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free. People with savings above £23,250 are not entitled to council help with care costs, sometimes forcing them to sell their homes. The Nuffield Trust think tank found England is one of the few systems where access to public care funding depends on personal wealth.
The Health Foundation stated total net expenditure on adult social care in England was £28.7 billion in 2024/25, compared with the NHS budget of around £200 billion.
Public awareness and waiting lists
Ipsos UK research for the Health Foundation in May 2025 suggested about a third of people believe the NHS provides most social care services for older people, and a similar proportion think social care is generally free at the point of need.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) reported that as of the end of March 2025, 408,985 people were awaiting an assessment of their needs, care and support, direct payment start, or a review of their care plan. King’s Fund analysis recorded two million new requests for adult social care support in England in the year to March 2025.
Burnham’s plan and personal experience
Ahead of his speech in London, Mr Burnham insisted the time for “playing politics” on social care is over. He said: “Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring. Nowhere is that more urgent than social care. For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated.
“Politicians might have different views, but I’m serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.”
He described reform as “a choice” between passing the problem to the next generation or facing it head-on “to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve”.
Mr Burnham has spoken about his personal experience: his father lives with Alzheimer’s in a care home. He has described a system that can see people lose their homes and savings to pay for care as “not defensible”.
The Prime Minister will also visit a care home on Wednesday alongside Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading a commission into social care.
