UK PM Burnham to set out first steps on social care in speech
LONDON: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will on Wednesday pledge to overhaul the adult social care system, offering to work with other parties to better fund a service that can cost families hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Burnham became prime minister last week, and has enjoyed a bounce in the governing Labour Party’s poll ratings after announcing steps to reduce the cost of living.
But his pledge to “grasp the nettle” on reforming the system for caring for older and disabled adults carries political risk, as he will need to set out how he plans to pay for any changes while sticking to his fiscal rules.
Successive governments have failed to reform adult social care, with previous proposals defeated by opposition parties who dubbed them a “dementia tax” or “death tax,” leaving the system underfunded.
Care homes are run by a range of providers, from private equity-owned chains to smaller family-owned businesses and charities. Depending on the level of medical need and location, residents pay around £1,400 ($1,900) a week privately, while local authorities are charged around £1,000 for similar care.
How much the resident pays, and how much the state contributes, is determined by their level of wealth.
Burnham has said that unless the care sector is reformed, the state-run National Health Service could collapse because of how many people who could be cared for elsewhere end up in hospitals.
“For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated,” Burnham said in a statement ahead of a speech he was due to give on Wednesday.
“We have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.”
