Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has shared a picture of herself during a previous career as a carer in her local council, after her new boss Andy Burnham gave a speech on reforming social care.
The former Deputy Prime Minister, who resigned over her tax affairs last year, worked as a home carer at Stockport Council between 2000 and 2005. She became a union rep with Unison during her time there, starting her on the trajectory to politics and ultimately government.
Rayner’s post on caring experience
In her post this afternoon, she wrote: ‘I know what it’s like to wash someone, cook for them, and make time to actually listen to them before rushing off to the next call with the clock ticking. ‘I know how it feels to graft hard day and night doing tough, physical shifts for wages I struggled to get by on. That’s why I’ve always fought for a fairer deal for social care.’
Burnham’s social care pledge
Speaking at a care home today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged that he would be the one to finally fix social care in England after many failed efforts from different governments. However, he offered no specifics about his plans, only announcing he had asked Baroness Louise Casey to publish the report from her commission on social care a year earlier than originally planned.
He said: ‘I just don’t accept that this problem is too big to solve. ‘What we need is a new way of doing politics where we come together, face the challenge head on and build an integrated system that gives people security and dignity.’
Cross-party talks and funding threshold
Burnham is also holding cross-party talks with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in an effort to find a solution that MPs will support. Currently, anyone in England with savings above a strict threshold of £23,250 must pay for all the costs of their care. While there is widespread consensus on the importance of fixing the system, every attempt to find a solution has fallen short.
The Prime Minister, whose dad Roy has Alzheimer’s, said he was willing to put ‘what political capital I have’ on the table to tackle the long-standing issue. His voice broke at the end of his speech as he said he was going to put in the effort for his ‘dad, and millions like him up and down the country’.
Reaction from Alzheimer’s Society
Alzheimer’s Society CEO Michelle Dyson said the charity welcomes and supports the PM’s commitment on social care. She said: ‘As the Prime Minister knows from his own experience, people living with dementia need good quality care as early as possible, but too often families are left to navigate a fragmented system, bearing huge emotional, practical and financial pressures.’
However, she added: ‘Burnham’s clarity and conviction in naming these problems is critical. But now the question is what the reforms to address them will actually look like. ‘What’s the offer for the population, how will it be funded, and how will it be organised and delivered? ‘None of these questions are simple, and there’s no escaping the fact that a more generous and comprehensive system will require extra government investment.’
