Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The UK government has rejected criticisms that it is delaying tackling the crisis in social care after it said a review of one of the country’s most intractable political problems would not be completed until 2028.
The first phase of the review, which will be led by Baroness Louise Casey, an experienced Whitehall troubleshooter, is due to report in mid-2026. It will identify the critical issues facing adult social care and make recommendations for medium-term reforms.
But the second phase, which will yield longer-term recommendations to address Britain’s ageing population, will not report until 2028 — the year before the next general election is expected to be held.
Asked on Friday whether he was kicking the problem into the long grass, Wes Streeting, health secretary, told the BBC: “I think that would be a fair criticism if we weren’t already acting on social care, if we hadn’t already done a lot in the first six months.”
He added that “part one of the Casey commission isn’t reporting in 2028 — it is reporting next year”.
But Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at The King’s Fund, a health and social care think-tank, urged ministers to accelerate the timing of the commission, saying it was “far too long to wait” for people who needed care and their families.
Natasha Curry, deputy director of policy at the Nuffield Trust research group, said there should be greater urgency from ministers given the “soaring costs” facing the care sector — including higher national insurance payments.
“The ambition to implement comprehensive reform over the medium and longer term, as part of a phased plan, is understandable but more urgent support for social care must also be forthcoming,” she added.
The appointment of Baroness Casey is an attempt to break the political deadlock after decades of wrangling over social care, which has weighed heavily on the overstretched NHS.
Despite the millions of people affected, the issue was barely mentioned in last year’s general election.
A government-commissioned study published by Lord Ara Darzi last year described the crisis facing social care provision as “dire”. The peer said a lack of funding had had “profound human cost and economic consequences” for elderly people and their families.
Sir Tony Blair set up a royal commission on care for the elderly at the start of the last Labour government in 1997, but ended up rejecting its recommendations for free personal care on cost grounds.
Since then, various government initiatives have been proposed to fund the social care system, only to face public backlashes.
Successive governments have postponed introducing a cap on the lifetime costs any individual must contribute towards their personal care in England.
The cap — set at £86,000 by the last Tory government — was due to come into force this October, but after chancellor Rachel Reeves discovered what ministers described as a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances, plans were once again postponed indefinitely.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said Casey’s review could finally break the “logjam” over funding social care.
“We say ‘potentially’ because while we’ve no doubt Baroness Casey will do an excellent job, the real question is whether the government will act decisively on her conclusions,” she said.
Woolnough at The King’s Fund said the first phase of Casey’s review should look at greater use of data and technology in the sector, better integration with the NHS and making adult social care a more attractive career.
Streeting also announced an £86mn increase to the Disabled Facilities Grant for this financial year, taking the annual total to £711mn, to allow more disabled and elderly people to make improvements to their homes.
Credit: Source link
