The UK government has said its review of one of the country’s most intractable political problems will not be completed until 2028, rejecting criticism that it is slow to tackle the social care crisis.
The first stage of the review will be led by experienced Whitehall troubleshooter Baroness Louise Casey and is expected to report in mid-2026. It will identify critical issues facing adult social care and make recommendations for medium-term reform.
But the second stage, which will produce long-term recommendations to tackle Britain’s aging population, will not be reported until 2028, the year before the next general election is due to be held.
On Friday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC when asked if he was throwing the issue into the long grass: A lot was accomplished in the first six months. ”
He added: “Part 1 of the Casey Commission is not reporting in 2028, it is reporting next year.”
But Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of health and social care think tank King’s Fund, said it was “too long to wait” for people in need of care and their families. He urged ministers to speed up the process.
Natasha Currie, deputy director of policy at the Nuffield Trust Research Group, said ministers needed to be more urgent given the “soaring costs” facing the care sector, including higher national insurance premiums. said it should.
“While we understand the ambition to implement comprehensive reforms over the medium and long term as part of a phased plan, more immediate support for social care must also come in the future,” she added.
Baroness Casey’s appointment is an attempt to break the political deadlock weighing on the strained NHS after decades of debate over social care.
Despite affecting millions of people, the issue was barely mentioned in last year’s general election.
A government-commissioned study published last year by Sir Ala Darji described the crisis facing social care provision as “dire”. The peer said the lack of funding was causing “significant human costs and economic impacts” on seniors and their families.
Sir Tony Blair set up a Royal Commission into Aged Care during the last Labor government in 1997, but ultimately rejected 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 be met with public backlash.
In the UK, successive governments have held off on introducing a cap on the lifetime costs that individuals must pay for their personal care.
The cap, set at £86,000 by the last Conservative government, was due to come into effect in October this year, but Rachel Reeves said the issue was overshadowed by what ministers described as a £22bn “black hole” in public finances. As the Prime Minister found out, the plan was once again postponed indefinitely. .
Age UK charity director Caroline Abrahams said Mr Casey’s review could finally break the “impasse” over social care funding.
“We say ‘potentially’ because we have no doubt that Baroness Casey will do a great job, but the real question is whether the government will act decisively on her conclusions. Because please,” she said.
The King’s Fund’s Mr Woolnough said the first stage of Mr Casey’s review would involve increasing the use of data and technology in the sector, improving integration with the NHS and making adult social care a more attractive profession. He said that this should be considered.
Street has also announced that it will increase its disability accommodation grant by £86 million this year, bringing the annual total to £711 million, to help more disabled and older people improve their homes.
