The Alzheimer's Society's CEO has labelled Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plans to reform social care as "critical" ahead of his major speech today. Mr Burnham will also hold a cross-party meeting to discuss tackling the crisis in adult social care, as he pledged to "put everything I've got" into fixing the system.
Cross-party meeting announced
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats accepted the Prime Minister's invitation "to build that spirit of collaboration from the start". However, Nigel Farage hit out at Mr Burnham for ignoring Reform UK. Mr Burnham said governments had, for decades, failed to tackle reform of social care in England, seeing it as "too risky, too difficult, and too complicated".
Mr Burnham has repeatedly vowed to expend "whatever political capital I have" on fixing the system, warning the NHS "will collapse" otherwise.
Prime Minister's speech in London
Ahead of his speech in London on Wednesday, he insisted the time for "playing politics" on the issue is over, "when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain".
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." He added that reform of the sector "comes down to a choice", stating: "We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head-on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve."
Alzheimer's Society backs plans
Michelle Dyson CB, CEO of Alzheimer's Society, said: "We warmly welcome and support the Prime Minister's commitment to tackling social care. For people living with dementia, it is critical." She noted that "Dementia is one of the biggest drivers of demand on the care system. Getting social care right depends heavily on getting dementia care right" and called for urgency: "We are looking forward to working with our new Prime Minister on quick wins like dementia training for care workers, together with longer-term plans for reform."
