Health Secretary Wes Streeting has denied the government is putting off social care reforms following criticism that a planned overhaul of the sector may not happen for years.
Ministers have launched an independent commission, led by Baroness Casey, to “transform social care” – but the latter phase of the two-part commission will not make its final recommendations for England until the end of 2028.
The first phase will report to Sir Keir Starmer in mid-2026, looking at the issues facing social care and recommending medium-term reforms, while the second phase is expected two years later and will make recommendations for the longer term.
The review, which will begin in April, is part of a wider package of support for the sector and includes more funding for elderly and disabled people to make home improvements, as well as training for care workers to perform health checks for patients in the home.
Friday’s announcement also marks the first step towards a National Care Service, which was pledged by Labour in its general election manifesto.
Asked by reporters on a trip to Carlisle whether ministers were “kicking [the reforms] into the long grass”, Mr Streeting said: “This government is determined to grip the crisis in social care which is historic and has been decades in the making.
“That’s why since the general election we have legislated for first-ever fair pay agreements, we’ve delivered the biggest expansion of the carer’s allowance since the 1970s, and we’re delivering big increases in social care funding – including specific funding for the disabled facilities grant.”
He added: “But there is more to do and if we’re going to break the cycle of failure after failure under different types of government – Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative, SNP – the best way to do that is an independent commission that brings political parties together so we’ve got a plan not just for the next few years… but a plan for the next three decades.”
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However, Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said “waiting until 2028 is not an option”.
He said that while government’s review acknowledged “the decade-long crisis in social care”, there was a risk of it “becoming yet another repot that gathers dust while the sector crumbles”.
“This commission will simply confirm what we already know – how many more reports must we endure before action is taken?” he added.
“The harm caused by the government’s inaction is already deep, and the consequences for those who currently draw on care will be irreparable if immediate intervention is not forthcoming.
“Waiting until 2028 is not an option. The people in care today cannot afford to wait any longer – their lives depend on action now.”
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at The King’s Fund, also welcomed the announcement, but urged the government to “accelerate the timing”.
Labour had 14 years to think about social care – why do they need to buy three more years?
Successive governments have tried and failed to take on the generational challenge of overhauling social care.
Reforming the sector could be transformational, not just for patients and staff but also for councils struggling to pay the ever-increasing bill and the dangerously over-stretched NHS, which currently picks up the slack.
The advantages are obvious but the political pitfalls loom large over the issue, with previous attempts memorably ending in failure.
One of the most notable was Theresa May’s attempt to change the funding model, which was dubbed “the dementia tax” during the election that derailed and permanently damaged her premiership.
It is surely with this and other abandoned plans in mind that Labour has today sought to buy two things – time and political cover.
By announcing that the Independent Commission will report in 2028 they have given themselves years to come up with the solutions and the cash to make it happen.
And by bringing in Baroness Casey – a politically neutral reformer with a formidable reputation – to take on the issue they clearly hope to build cross-party consensus and avoid the divisive attacks that can kill a policy.
But it also invites the obvious criticism that Sir Keir Starmer and his team had 14 years in opposition to think about social care, so why do they need three more?
They now need to prove that this extra period of reflection is really worth it, and it’s not just the same old political tactic of kicking it into the long grass.
Last summer Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, also announced she would not proceed with adult social care charging reforms, which had also been delayed by the previous government, in a bid to fill a £22bn black hole in the public finances.
The plans would have introduced a cap of £86,000 cap on care costs from this October. Those whose care costs exceeded £86,000 would then have the rest paid for by local authorities.
It would have also seen the threshold for qualifying for some council support before surpassing the cap increase from £23,250 currently to £100,000.
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Shadow health and social care secretary Edward Argar said Labour had made the job of social care providers “even harder”.
“After Rachel Reeves abandoned their election promise to deliver our cap on social care costs, Labour have piled pressure on social care providers with their employer NICs jobs tax on social care workers, making their job even harder,” he said.
“We will engage constructively to deliver much-needed long-term social care reform, but after 14 years in opposition it is deeply disappointing that Labour don’t have a plan for social care.”
Speaking to Sky News this morning, health minister Andrew Gwynne acknowledged the criticism about the length of time it would take to implement major reform, but denied there was “inaction right now”.
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He said no political party had “clean hands on this”, highlighting how the Tories attacked Gordon Brown’s attempts to reform social care in 2010 as the “death tax”, while Theresa May was accused of trying to introduce a “dementia tax” with a proposed cap on social care costs.
Mr Gwynne pointed to the fact that additional funding has been committed to the Disabled Facilities Grant, which allows people to apply for funding to carry out work such as widening doors, improving access, installing ramps or stairlifts, or building an extension.
The £86m boost for this financial year is on top of the £86m announced in the budget for the next financial year and brings the annual total to £711m.
About 7,800 more elderly and disabled people could benefit, ministers estimate.