The Only Lasting Solution to Social Care Will Come From the Bottom-Up

Our broken social care system is a political hot-button issue and Andy Burnham has vowed to fix it. But finding the cash is only one of his problems. He needs to empower those who shoulder the burden.

Like the creation of the NHS, social care reform will require a mass base to fight for it – organised groups of care workers, together with those receiving care and their families. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Over the weekend, Andy Burnham told Laura Kuenssberg that he wants to introduce an NHS-style system for social care provision. It’s a laudable aim. Our social care system is completely broken and does need fundamental reform. But Burnham’s Labour will struggle to deliver it.

Adult social care, covering care for older people, the chronically ill and people with disabilities, is currently the responsibility of local councils – not the NHS. Those who require care generally have to purchase it from private providers, with some means-tested support offered by local councils. Anyone with savings worth more than £23,250 has to cover the cost of their own care – and there’s no upper limit on what you might have to pay. Your home can be included in the calculation of your savings if you move into a care home, so some people lose their homes to pay for care.