Prime Minister Andy Burnham will set out plans for a universal adult social care system in England next week, aiming to make care free at the point of use on the model of the National Health Service. Burnham, who first proposed such a system as health secretary in 2009, considers the sector to have been neglected by previous administrations. He will also address youth unemployment and devolution in the coming days.
The proposal faces fiscal scrutiny. A comprehensive free-care model would cost £18.5 billion annually by 2035-36, according to the Health Foundation, while Burnham has previously suggested a 10% levy on assets and savings as a funding mechanism. The Resolution Foundation estimated that this week's broader pledges would exceed £2 billion in cost by 2029-30.
Social care reform has eluded successive leaders. Boris Johnson's 2019 pledge to resolve the crisis once and for all failed to materialise, and Keir Starmer's Labour faced criticism in 2024 for abandoning an £86,000 cap on personal care spending. Currently, individuals with savings above £23,250 receive no local council support. Burnham has also pledged to end rough sleeping, cut domestic electricity VAT, and reduce business rates for hospitality venues by 20% from April.