Prime Minister Andy Burnham will pledge to put party differences aside on Wednesday to tackle Britain's social care system. He has invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, to a care home in the morning to discuss how to drive much-needed reforms.
Ending Decades of Decline
It is understood that Mr Burnham will draw a line under decades of decline and call on all political parties to find solutions together. The PM has previously said that adult social care has been ‘neglected’ by previous governments. Last week, he told journalists that social care should be delivered ‘on an NHS basis’, i.e. free at the point of delivery and funded by some form of taxation.
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free and high costs often mean people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.
Urgent Need for Change
Speaking ahead of his speech, Mr Burnham 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: “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. It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain.”
“This comes down to a choice. 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. This is about bringing back hope that we can finally fix the difficult issues that have been ignored for too long, and making Britain believe again.”
Scale of the Crisis
Age UK estimates two million older people in England are now living with some unmet need for social care. According to the Health Foundation, providing universal social care could cost an extra £18.5 billion – that funding will have to come from some form of taxation.
Mr Burnham has previously promised to use ‘whatever political capital I have’ to fix the social care system in England, saying there are ‘major changes you can make before the next election’.
Commission and Public Consultation
At the speech Mr Burnham will be joined by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care which will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service. Baroness Casey has also been leading a review into social care. A report is expected to be published by 2028 but the interim findings could be expected by the end of the year.
She will also launch the Big Conversation on Care, which will give the public their chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England.
In June, an average of 13,600 people a day were stuck in hospital beds despite being medically fit to leave, including some delayed because of the availability of adult social care, according to NHS England figures.
A Call for Honest Conversation
Baroness Casey said: “For too long, we have been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, another review, and then retreat, while the people who need care, and their families, bear the brunt.”
“Fixing adult social care is about far more than money. People are already paying for failure through council tax, pressure on the NHS, their savings, giving up work, and the forced sale of their homes. The choice is whether we keep putting money into a system that is unfair, unpredictable and broken, or have an honest conversation about how to build something better.”
“That is why we need a public conversation on care that tackles the tough questions. It’s only by facing up to this problem together that we can fix social care once and for all.”
