Burnham pledges 'everything I've got' into fixing social care as he invites political rivals to work with him on issue
The Prime Minister said governments have for decades failed to tackle the reform of social care in England
Andy Burnham has pledged to “put everything I’ve got” into fixing adult social care, as he extended an invite to party leaders to work with him to tackle the problem “head-on”.
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Ahead of a visit to a care home alongside the leader of a review into the sector, the Prime Minister said governments have for decades failed to tackle reform of social care in England, seeing it as “too risky, too difficult, and too complicated”.
Mr Burnham has invited Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to meet with him on Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Mrs Badenoch has already written to Mr Burnham to challenge him to rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to pay for social care reform.
Read More: Andy Burnham considers 10 per cent ‘death tax’ to fund free social care for elderly
A spokesman for the Conservative Party said Ms Badenoch is unable to attend the meeting but that shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew will do so in her place.
A party source criticised the short-notice invite, suggesting: “It’s almost like it’s only being done for show.”
Sir Ed Davey confirmed later on X that he will attend the meeting via Zoom.
Mr Burnham has previously stressed that, as Prime Minister, he wants to have “cross-party talks, to build that spirit of collaboration from the start” on the issue, while acknowledging that change would “take time”.
He has also repeatedly vowed to expend “whatever political capital I have” on fixing the system, warning the NHS “will collapse” otherwise.
Ahead of his speech in London on Wednesday, he insisted the time for “playing politics” on the issue is over, “when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain”.
He 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.
“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.”
He said reform of the sector “comes down to a choice”, adding: “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.
“That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it.”
It comes after the Government said there are “no plans” for a so-called “death tax” after reports Mr Burnham might seek to put forward plans he had previously put forward while he was health secretary in 2010.
As part of the then-Labour government under Gordon Brown, Mr Burnham had suggested a levy to pay a proposed national care service could take 10% off people’s estates after they died.
But the plans were scuppered by the Conservatives, who at the time accused Labour of levying a “death tax”.
The compulsory levy was one of a range of options for paying for social care presented by Mr Burnham more than a decade ago, with alternatives including increased state funding out of general taxation and a voluntary contribution.
Another option for funding reforms could be a new tax on income.
According to The Telegraph, civil servants have presented a proposal that would force workers to make contributions to a privately managed fund which would pay for later life care.
Options suggest that the new levy would be set at 1.8% of earnings above £6,240, which would be paid by workers over the age of 34.
It has been suggested that this fund would be supplemented by wealthier elderly people - who would pay between 10 and 45% of their own costs depending on their assets.
Mr Burnham has frequently cited his personal experience of the care system, as his father lives with Alzheimer’s in a care home.
He has described as “not defensible” a system which can see people lose their homes and savings to pay for care.
Mr Burnham is also said to be uneasy about the prospect of the new service being operated by large private sector providers on a for-profit basis.
The Times has reported that the new PM wants to base the model around community-led services run by charities and local authorities.
"The model is going to be more like the NHS or the Live Well scheme he pioneered in Manchester rather than the system we have at the moment," a senior government source told The Times.
On Wednesday, it is expected Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading a commission into social care, launched last year during Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, will announce her so-called “Big Conversation on Care”, seeking public opinion on what a social care system should look like, what people should pay and what role the state should play to inform her major review.
Baroness Casey, who is expected to publish her first report from her review later this year, noted in a speech earlier this month that there have been no fewer than 22 attempts since 1997 at reforming the sector – none of which she said had “fixed the foundations”.
In 2019, in his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson said the Conservatives would “fix the crisis in social care once and for all”, something that failed to come to fruition.
Ahead of the care home visit, Baroness Casey said there is a need for an “honest conversation about how to build something better”, than the current system, which she has previously described as “patched together”.
She 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.”
While Baroness Casey’s final report was given a deadline of publication by 2028, she has previously indicated the overall work might be completed sooner.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said the current system “came into being after the Second World War and is no longer fit for purpose, so it needs a fundamental rethink”.
She said funding for reforms is likely to be “one of the thorniest questions of all”, adding: “The chances are that we will all have to put our hands in our pockets.
“However, this doesn’t necessarily mean we will pay more, just that we will pay differently.”
The Centre for Ageing Better’s State of Ageing report last year stated projections that 26% of the population in England will be aged 65 and over and 46% will be aged 50 and over by 2065, while the number of people aged 65 and over in England is projected to increase by 3.3 million in the next 20 years and by 6.5 million in the next 40 years.