Ministers are planning the biggest shake-up of adult social care in England for decades
Ministers are to set up a historic independent commission to reform adult social care, as they warned older people could be left without essential help and the NHS would be overwhelmed unless a ‘national consensus’ was reached on fixing a ‘failing’ system.
The taskforce, which will be led by Louise Casey, will be charged with developing plans for a new national care service, a promise of Labour’s election manifesto, which will be the biggest shake-up of social care in England in decades.
Millions of pounds of funding for the elderly and disabled to improve their homes and stay out of hospital was also announced on Friday as part of a wider support package for the sector.
But the proposed timetable for completing the commission’s work was criticized by health and care leaders, who accused ministers of kicking the crisis in adult social care “into the grass”. An interim report will be delivered in 2026. The final report is not expected until 2028.
Wes Streeting wrote in the Guardian: “It will take time, but Casey’s work will finally get this nettle under control and put our country on the path to building a national healthcare service that meets the urgent needs of our generation and delivers quality care for all guarantees. who need it, and that will continue long into the future, regardless of which government is in power.”
The Health Secretary added: ‘By 2050 there will be four million more people aged over 65 in England than there are today. If we do nothing, the real cost of social care is expected to almost double in 2038 compared to 2018.
“Many more people will go without the care they need, the burden will fall on the health service and our NHS will be overwhelmed.”
Casey, a former civil servant and problem solver for governments of all stripes and for four former prime ministers, “will engage all political parties and the public” to build a “national consensus” on what the country wants from social care. added.
The Health Secretary said Labor “came under a lot of criticism” during last year’s general election campaign for not detailing its plans for a national health service.
“I was honest about why – a general election campaign will see social care plans die,” he wrote. “In 2009, when Andy Burnham launched cross-party talks on social care, David Cameron backed down and leaked details of the talks to attack Labor in the election campaign.
“In 2017 it was Labor who torpedoed Theresa May’s proposals. Then Rishi Sunak scrapped Boris Johnson’s cap on healthcare costs.”
Streeting said there had been “a lot of good ideas” over the past 15 years about how to tackle the crisis “but a lack of good politics”. The Labor government was “determined to do politics differently”, he said.
However, the health secretary immediately came under fire from some healthcare and health care leaders for the proposed timeline for the task force.
The assignment is divided into two phases. The first phase report to government is expected in mid-2026, examining the issues facing social care and recommending medium-term reforms. The second phase report, not expected until 2028, will make recommendations for the longer term.
Nadra Ahmed, executive co-chair of the National Care Association, told the Guardian she welcomed the launch of the commission but had “serious concerns” that the final report would not be delivered for another three years.
She called for the deadlines for the interim and final reports to be brought forward, adding: “We have a sector that cannot wait that long. There are concerns that waiting so long for the committee’s report is kicking the social care crisis into the long grass.”
Prof. Martin Green, the chief executive of Care England, said: “This announcement recognizes the decade-long crisis in social care, but it risks becoming yet another report collecting dust as the sector crumbles.
“This committee will simply confirm what we already know: how many more reports do we have to get through before action is taken?”
Hugh Alderwick, director of policy at the Health Foundation, also warned the committee to “act quickly” or risk “history repeating itself”.
“England’s adult social care system is in urgent need of reform after decades of political neglect and underfunding,” he said. “So the Government’s promise of a social care plan is welcome.
“But we’ve been here before. Over the past thirty years we have seen a long series of reports and reviews with recommendations for social care reform, including from government commissions such as those announced today. The result is delays and broken promises.
“This new commission must act quickly and build on previous policy proposals.
“Today’s announcement suggests it could be three years before we see recommendations for longer-term reforms, including the broken social care funding system. This risks history repeating itself, where reforms are not implemented and people continue to suffer.”
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King’s Fund, welcomed the launch of the commission but urged the government to “accelerate the timing”.
“The current timetable for reporting in 2028 is far too long to wait for people in need of social care, and their families,” she said.
In addition to the launch of the committee, ministers announced on Friday that more investment had been made in the Disabled Facilities Grant, which will allow people to apply for funding to carry out work such as widening doors, improving access, installing ramps or stair lifts, or building an extension.
The £86 million increase for 2024/25, on top of the £86 million announced in the 2025/26 Budget, brings the annual total to £711 million. About 7,800 elderly and disabled people could benefit from this, the ministers said.
Healthcare staff will be trained to carry out further tasks such as blood pressure checks, reducing the need for patients to travel to their doctor or clinic. A digital platform will also be created for sharing medical information between the NHS and healthcare staff.