It seems that following his appointment as UK Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has made Social Care Reform one of his core priorities. In his early days in office, he has stated that the historic failure to address Britain's social care crisis is "not defensible". He has explicitly pledged to "use some of my political capital" to finally resolve the issue and stated that he refuses to leave office having failed to do so.
Can his appointment be the catalyst for long-awaited change? As a principal architect of the 2010 white paper ‘Building A National Care Service’, Andy Burnham has remained an enthusiastic evangelist for Social Care Reform. His passion and commitment to reform social care is undeniable. This is perhaps fuelled by personal frustrations with the care of this father, who sadly passed away recently after living with Alzheimer’s. The personal commitment of the PM could be a game changer and with a General Election potentially still 3 years away, some smartly crafted actions on Social Care could offer a big win and demonstrate to a distrustful electorate that progress is possible.
So, what is Andy Burnham’s position on Social Care and what announcements has he made so far?
Free Social Care on an NHS principle
Free at Point of Use: Burnham wants Social Care to operate on the NHS principle. He intends to make adult social care free at the point of delivery, arguing that the current system is broken.
Relieve NHS pressure: He has pointed out that a failing social care system is the ‘biggest cause’ of the current crisis in A&E departments and hospital ‘corridor care’. He notes that patients who are medically fit to be discharged but have nowhere to go costs the NHS billions of pounds annually.
Civil Service Action: Civil servants have already been instructed to draw up plans for this free-at the point of need model.
Fast Tracking Reform Timeline
Accelerating the independent review: The existing independent review of Social Care funding, led by Baroness Casey, was originally scheduled to submit its final report in 2028.
New Deadline: Burnham has announced plans to fast track this process, asking Casey to bring her recommendations forward to the end of 2026 / summer 2027, so his administration can act swiftly.
Funding and Taxation Options
National Care Levy / Wealth Taxes: Because an NHS style care model could cost up to £18 billion a year, funding it requires structural reform. Burnham has previously suggested replacing IHT with a ‘national care levy’ or a 10% tax on all estates.
Alternative Funding: More recently, he has signalled openness to moving away from IHT adjustments to instead taxing the wealthy ‘properly whilst they are alive’, while ensuring funding does not rely on unfair income tax hikes for working aged people.
The Challenges
Competition for the PM’s time, energy and commitment will be intense. Given other pressing domestic policy challenges and a volatile geopolitical landscape, there is a risk that Social Care reform will be dwarfed by issues such as defence spending, EU relations and energy costs.
The queue for additional resources is long, at time when economic growth remains limited. Having been relegated to the back so often in the past, will Social Care be at the front of the queue this time?
There’s also the risk of repeating own goals that have bedevilled previous Government’s attempts to reform Social Care. Leading with plans for a Care Levy or some other form of property or IHT related charge risks reigniting the rows of the past which ultimately de-railed reform.
In Conclusion
The fortunes of Social Care, like all other public services, will depend crucially on the ability of the Government to achieve economic growth and through adequate funding (where all previous attempts at reform have come unstuck). But above all, it will require sustained political commitment to reform at the highest level of government.
Burnham has repeatedly said he will not flinch from the difficult political decisions that are needed to reform England’s adult Social Care system. Even if we know what he wants and hopes to achieve, we don’t know what this will mean in practice. Some form of additional taxation seems inevitable, although likely not income tax, as this was judged back in 2010 to be unfair on working age people and now not line with the current Government’s manifesto. A case of watch this space!
Harold Stephens is a local, later life financial and legal planning specialist with a special interest in long-term care provision and tax efficient funding options. If you, or your loved one, are at the point of care need and are currently making important care funding decision then get in touch now for an initial complimentary face to face exploratory meeting with one of our specialist advisers.
We will also be putting on some in person events throughout October and November in the local area covering the topic of care funding decisions and related later life financial and legal planning. Event details are added regularly to our events page here: https://www.haroldstephens.co.uk/events/
Alternatively, feel free to get in touch for a relaxed chat about your circumstances by calling 0117 3636 212 or emailing office@haroldstephens.co.uk.
