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Prime Minister commits to National Care Service in major Conference speech
September 29, 2026
Prime Minister Andy Burnham used his first Labour Party Conference speech as Prime Minister to make a major commitment to fundamental social care reform, promising to build a National Care Service that is free at the point of use.
Responding to the speech, the Co-Chairs of the Care and Support Alliance said:
“The Prime Minister’s commitment to fundamental social care reform is hugely welcome. After decades of delay, the ambition for a modern, high-quality National Care Service, free at the point of use, has the potential to be transformational for older and disabled people, unpaid carers, families and the social care workforce.
“We particularly welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to start laying the groundwork for reform now. People cannot wait until the next Parliament for things to get better. Alongside developing the long-term settlement, we need action to tackle unmet need, support unpaid carers, stabilise services and build a properly valued and rewarded social care workforce, with better pay, conditions and recognition for the vital work they do.
“What matters now is turning today’s ambition into a workable plan. There are big questions to answer about what a National Care Service will mean in practice – including who will be entitled to support, what will be free at the point of use, and how we ensure everyone can access the care and support they need regardless of their age, diagnosis, income or postcode.
“It is particularly important that the next stage of reform reflects the full breadth of people who rely on social care. Social care is not only about supporting people in later life or protecting people from catastrophic care costs. For millions of working-age disabled people, good care and support is what enables them to live independently, work, study, maintain relationships and participate in their communities. Unpaid carers must also be at the heart of the new settlement.
“The Prime Minister was right to recognise the skill, humanity and contribution of care workers. A successful National Care Service must be built on a properly valued, fairly rewarded and sustainable workforce.
“The Casey Commission now has an enormously important job in working through these questions. The Care and Support Alliance and our members stand ready to work constructively with Louise Casey and the Commission, Government and politicians across all parties to help turn this ambition into lasting reform.
“Fundamental reform will require long-term, sustainable funding and an honest conversation about how we collectively pay for care. It cannot be a choice between improving social care and protecting people’s financial security. Any new settlement must be fair, protect those on the lowest incomes, and provide the stable funding needed to deliver good care and support for generations to come.”
Where you live can shape your experience of social care
August 11, 2026
New Care and Support Alliance analysis reveals huge differences in what happens when people ask their council for care and support. We’ve written to council leaders across England asking them to help turn local concern into national action.
Our latest analysis shows that in one part of England, just 3 in 10 requests for care do not lead to formal support within three months. In another, it is more than 9 in 10.
The findings are part of the latest update to our Show Us You Care local data tool, which brings together information about the pressures facing adult social care in communities across England.
Simply enter your postcode to see what social care looks like where you live.
A postcode lottery in social care
The data shows significant variation across England – both between regions and between councils within the same region.
The East Midlands and South East have the highest regional rates, with three quarters (75%) of requests not leading to formal support within three months.
In the West Midlands, the figure is lower at 62% – but that still means almost two in every three requests do not lead to formal support within three months.
The differences within regions are even more striking.
In London, rates range from 30% in one borough to 91% in another – a gap of 61 percentage points.
Significant variation can be seen in every region. Even in the North East, where the gap is smallest, rates range from 46% to 76%.
There are many reasons why recorded outcomes may differ between areas. Councils face different levels of demand and deprivation, workforce pressures and challenges in their local care markets. Their ability to raise income locally also varies, while national funding has not always kept pace with changes in local populations and levels of need.
But differences on this scale raise important questions about fairness.
People should be able to get the care and support they need based on their needs – not their postcode.
We’re calling on council leaders to help make change happen
The figures show what people experience locally – but the solutions cannot come from individual councils alone.
That’s why we’ve written to council leaders across England, sharing data about the pressures facing social care in their own area and asking them to add their voices to the call for national reform.
Each leader has received local figures showing the number of requests for care, how many resulted in no formal support within three months, workforce vacancies, levels of unpaid care and delayed hospital discharges.
Our message to council leaders is simple: this is a local issue that needs a national solution.
Councils are dealing with rising demand, increasingly complex needs, workforce shortages and growing costs. Strong local leadership is vital, but councils cannot overcome years of underinvestment or fix an unsustainable national system one council at a time.
We’re asking council leaders to:
- champion the case for long-term social care reform
- use their influence within their communities, local government and political parties to help build broad political support for change
- encourage local people and organisations to take part in the Big Conversation on Care
- work with us to make the case for a fair and sustainable care and support system.
We’ve also offered to meet council leaders to discuss the challenges facing social care in their area and how we can work together to build support for reform.
“It should depend on your needs – not your postcode”
Caroline Abrahams CBE, Emily Holzhausen CBE and Jackie O’Sullivan, Co-Chairs of the Care and Support Alliance, said:
“Council leaders know better than most the enormous pressures facing social care. Every day, councils are trying to balance rising demand, increasingly complex needs and growing costs against budgets that simply have not kept pace.
“The result is a system in which people’s experiences of seeking care and support can look dramatically different depending on where they live.
“Whether someone receives the care and support they need should depend on their needs – not their postcode.
“But this is not a problem councils can solve on their own. Local leaders cannot be expected to overcome years of underinvestment or fix a fundamentally unsustainable system one council at a time.
“The only way to tackle this unfairness is through national action, backed by sustainable funding that enables every council to provide the care and support its community needs.”
A real opportunity to change social care
This comes at an important moment for the future of adult social care.
The Government has accelerated the Casey Commission on Adult Social Care, with its final report now expected in summer 2027, and committed to working across political parties to develop a long-term settlement.
At the same time, the Big Conversation on Care gives people across the country the opportunity to help shape what a modern care and support system should look like – and how it should be funded.
After decades of delay, there is an opportunity to build the political and public support needed to deliver lasting reform.
Council leaders have an important part to play. So do people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers, charities, communities and politicians from across the political spectrum.
Social care is delivered locally. But fixing it requires national action.
What does social care look like where you live?
Our Show Us You Care local data tool helps you understand some of the pressures facing adult social care in your area.
Enter your postcode to find local information about:
- requests for care and support and their recorded outcomes
- adult social care workforce vacancies
- the number of people providing 20 or more hours of unpaid care each week
- delayed hospital discharges.
A note about the data
The Show Us You Care tool draws on workforce data from Skills for Care, unpaid care data from the 2021 Census, NHS delayed discharge data and support recorded by the Department of Health and Social Care. For more information about sources and methodology, please visit the ‘About the data’ section on our social care data dashboard.
CSA responds to Prime Minister’s speech on adult social care reform
July 29, 2026
The Care and Support Alliance (CSA) has welcomed today’s speech by the Prime Minister setting out the Government’s plans to begin reform of England’s adult social care system.
The speech marked the launch of a new phase of work on social care reform, including the acceleration of Baroness Casey’s independent commission, a renewed commitment to strengthening the social care workforce, the start of cross-party talks to build consensus on a long-term settlement, and the launch of Baroness Casey’s Big Conversation on Care.
Drawing on his own family’s experience of dementia, the Prime Minister argued that adult social care can no longer remain in the “too difficult” box. Acknowledging that governments of all political parties have failed to resolve the longstanding challenges facing the system, he called for a new approach that puts people before politics and seeks lasting consensus on reform.
Responding to today’s announcements, Caroline Abrahams CBE, Emily Holzhausen CBE and Jackie O’Sullivan, Co-Chairs of the Care and Support Alliance, said:
“Today’s announcement offers the best opportunity in a generation to secure lasting reform of adult social care.
“The Prime Minister spoke powerfully about his family’s experience of dementia and care, reflecting a longstanding personal commitment to reform. We welcome his determination to make social care an early priority, his commitment to work across political parties, his decision to accelerate Baroness Casey’s timetable for reform, and his support for Baroness Casey’s Big Conversation on Care as the starting point for building lasting change.
“Bringing forward Baroness Casey’s final recommendations recognises the urgency of reform. People who draw on care and support, unpaid carers and the social care workforce have waited long enough for change and cannot afford more years of delay.
“Beginning with a national conversation about what people should be able to expect from a modern care and support system is exactly the right approach. Launching the Big Conversation on Care now, well before the next General Election, creates an opportunity to build the broad public and political consensus that has been missing from previous attempts at reform.
“Around half of us will either need care ourselves or care for someone we love during our lifetime. Yet most people only discover how the system works when they are already in crisis. Baroness Casey’s Big Conversation on Care must therefore be shaped by the voices of the people who know it best – older people, disabled people, unpaid carers, care workers and families.
“We also welcome the Prime Minister’s recognition of the vital contribution made by the social care workforce. Care workers deserve fair pay, opportunities to develop their skills and careers, and the recognition that reflects the skilled, compassionate and essential role they play in people’s lives. A valued workforce will be fundamental to building the National Care Service the Government has set out as its ambition.
“The debate about social care has too often focused solely on how to pay for it. Reform isn’t just about paying for care. It’s about addressing the real scandal that millions of people still cannot get the good-quality care and support they need. Any long-term funding solution should be judged on whether it enables older and disabled people to live the lives they choose with dignity, independence and choice, supports unpaid carers, eases pressure on the NHS, and builds a fair, sustainable care and support system – not on political slogans.”
“Today’s announcement is an important opportunity to move beyond political point-scoring. The real test now is whether Baroness Casey’s Big Conversation on Care leads to practical improvements for people who need care and support today, while laying the foundations for the fair, sustainable system that people have waited decades to see.”
CSA writes to new Prime Minister urging action on social care
July 21, 2026
The Care and Support Alliance (CSA) has written to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, urging him to seize the opportunity to finally deliver lasting reform of adult social care.
In the letter, the CSA’s co-chairs welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to make social care a priority and his determination to stop successive governments “kicking the can down the road” on reform.
The letter highlights the urgent challenges facing older people, disabled people and unpaid carers who are struggling to get the care and support they need, as well as the wider consequences for families, the NHS, local government and the economy.
The CSA is calling on the new Government to build on Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care and the forthcoming National Conversation, working across political parties and with people who draw on care, unpaid carers and the wider sector to build a fair, sustainable and properly funded care and support system.
With a new Prime Minister in office and renewed political focus on social care, the CSA believes there is a real opportunity to turn ambition into action and finally deliver the change millions of people have waited too long to see.
DHSC announces next steps towards Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care
July 16, 2026
The Government has announced the next steps towards introducing the first-ever Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care in England, alongside an expanded Care Workforce Pathway.
Under the plans, a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will bring together employers and trade unions to negotiate pay, terms and conditions for the sector, with the first agreement expected to come into effect from April 2028. The Government has committed £500 million to support the first agreement and says the reforms will help recruit and retain care workers while supporting its ambition to create a National Care Service.
Responding to the announcement, CSA Co-Chairs Emily Holzhausen and Jackie O’Sullivan said:
“We welcome this as an important step towards giving care workers the recognition, voice and reward they deserve. For too long, the people who keep our care system going have been undervalued despite carrying out highly skilled and vital work.
“But a Fair Pay Agreement will only succeed if it is properly funded. Care providers and councils cannot be expected to absorb the cost of higher pay without risking fewer services for the people who rely on them. While the government’s £500 million commitment is welcome, spread across a workforce of 1.5 million people it is equivalent to around 17p an hour for a full-time care worker. Nor should the costs simply be passed on to people who fund their own care and their families, particularly when the government’s own assessment suggests they are likely to be disproportionately affected. Many are already grappling with rising fees driven by increases in the National Minimum Wage, employers’ National Insurance contributions, inflation and higher energy and food costs.
“Today’s announcement must also be part of something bigger. Better pay alone will not fix a system where too many older people, disabled people and unpaid carers still cannot get the care and support they need.
“With Baroness Casey’s Commission underway and a new Prime Minister in office, there is a genuine opportunity to build on today’s announcement as part of the wider reform our care system so urgently needs. We look forward to working with government to ensure workforce reforms are matched by the long-term changes needed to create a care and support system that is sustainable, properly funded and delivers high-quality support for everyone who needs it.”
