Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to reform social care, saying he will act for "my dad and the millions like him" facing unfairness in the current system. He acknowledged tax hikes could be necessary to fund fundamental changes.
Emotional Promise to Fix ‘Dereliction of Duty’
Speaking at a care home in north London, Mr Burnham, whose father has Alzheimer's, said it was a "major dereliction of public duty" that successive governments had failed to address the crisis. He blamed "my generation of politicians" for not confronting the problems of an ageing society.
The Prime Minister, who set out reform proposals as health secretary in 2009, said he had accelerated Baroness Louise Casey's review of social care so it will report next year. He also promised to improve the strength and capability of the social care workforce and confirmed he would begin cross-party talks with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
Tax Hikes on the Table
Mr Burnham said tax rises could be necessary but insisted Labour's manifesto commitments not to increase workers' income tax, national insurance, or VAT would remain. He noted that fixing social care could save the NHS billions: around £2.5 billion a year from patients stuck in hospital due to lack of community care, plus several billion more from a lack of preventative services.
He said: "I think we owe it to the public before we talk about tax rises" to "do more with what you've got." But he added that "some of what we want to do in the fuller sense will require difficult, difficult decisions" and promised honesty about them.
Political Capital on the Line
Mr Burnham indicated he was prepared to gamble his political reputation. "This is huge for me," he said. "I know this will require me to put what political capital I have on the table and it could wear down that political capital in some ways. But I'm prepared to do it because this has gone on too long."
Speaking from the heart, he said: "Why am I going to do it? Why am I going to do all of those things? For my dad and the millions like him up and down the country."
Earlier, Mr Burnham, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Baroness Casey met residents at the care home. When told Mr Burnham was Prime Minister, one resident replied: "A new one? They keep changing."
