- Andy Burnham warns that the NHS 'will collapse' without social care reform.
- According to Age UK, there are two million older people in England living with unmet care needs.
- People with assets above £23,250 are generally expected to pay the full cost of their care, and for residential care, the value of a person's home is included in the means test.
- In 2011, a commission led by economist Andrew Dilnot proposed a lifetime cap of £72,000, estimating that the reforms would cost between £1.3bn and £1.2bn annually.
- The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government accepted Dilnot's recommendations but delayed the cap's implementation to 2020.
- Boris Johnson's Conservative government in 2021 planned to raise the means test threshold to £100,000, with an annual cost of £8bn over three years.
- The Health Foundation estimates that implementing a Scottish-style system in England would cost £2.5bn annually by 2036.
- The Health Foundation has estimated that creating a universal and comprehensive social care system in England would require an additional £9bn a year by 2036.
- When Andy Burnham was health secretary in Gordon Brown's Labour government in 2010, he proposed a plan for a national care service.
- After the 2010 general election, Labour's proposals for a national care service did not progress, and in the 2024 general election, Labour again proposed a "national care service".
- After the 2024 election, then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer commissioned Louise Casey to investigate social care reform and report back in 2028.
Andy Burnham has issued a stark warning that the NHS will collapse without significant reforms to the social care system, which currently leaves two million older people in England with unmet care needs. He emphasized that the government must act to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed by patients who do not require hospital care.1213
Burnham stated, "the NHS would 'collapse under the weight of trying to care for people who've really not needed to end up in the NHS system.'" The King's Fund chief executive, Sarah Woolnough, criticized the existing system as "punitive," noting that many individuals are forced to pay exorbitant amounts for care, with one in seven spending over £100,000.910
The financial implications of reform are significant. The Health Foundation estimates that a comprehensive social care system could cost around £19 billion annually by 2036. Previous proposals, such as the Andrew Dilnot commission's recommendations for a lifetime cap of £35,000, have faced delays and political challenges, with the Conservative government postponing implementation until 2020 due to financial pressures.56781112
As the 2024 general election approaches, Labour has proposed a "national care service," but details on funding remain unclear. Burnham, who previously served as health secretary, aims to leave a legacy of substantial change in social care, emphasizing the urgent need for reform to support vulnerable populations.141516
“Currently, two million older people in England are estimated to have unmet needs for social care, according to Age UK. Burnham emphasizes the urgency for reform, recalling past proposals like Andrew Dilnot's 2011 plan for a lifetime cap on care costs, which was delayed by the government.”
BBC
