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The UK government has rejected criticism that it is delaying tackling the crisis in social care after it said a review of the country's most intractable political crisis would not be completed until 2028.
The first phase of the review, which will be led by Baroness Louise Casey, an experienced Whitehall problem solver, is due to report in mid-2026. It will identify key issues facing social care for older people and make recommendations for medium-term reform.
But the second phase, which will provide long-term advice for dealing with Britain's aging population, will not report until 2028 – a year before the next general election.
Asked on Friday if he was dismissing the problem in the long grass, Wes Streetingthe health secretary, told the BBC: “I think that would be a fair criticism if we hadn't been working on social care, if we hadn't done a lot in the first six months.”
He added that “the first part of the Casey commission does not report in 2028 – it reports next year”.
But Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at the King's Fund, a health and social care think tank, urged ministers to speed up the commission, saying it was “too long to wait” for people who need care and their families.
Natasha Curry, deputy director of policy at the Nuffield Trust research group, said there should be greater urgency for ministers given the “rising costs” facing the care sector – including higher national insurance premiums.
“The desire to implement comprehensive reforms in the medium and long term, as part of a phased plan, is understandable but urgent support for social care must come,” he added.
Baroness Casey's appointment is an attempt to break the political deadlock after decades of conflict over social care, which has hit the NHS hard.
Although millions of people are affected, this issue was not mentioned in the national elections last year.
A government-commissioned study published by Lord Ara Darzi last year explained The problem with providing social care as “bad“. The peer said the lack of funding had “significant social costs and economic consequences” for older people and their families.
Sir Tony Blair set up a royal commission into care for the elderly at the start of the last Labor government in 1997, but ended up rejecting its proposals for cost-free personal care.
Since then, various government initiatives have been proposed to fund the social care system, only to face public failure.
Successive governments have postponed introducing a cap on the lifetime costs of anyone who has to contribute to their own care in England.
The cap – set at £86,000 by the last Tory government – was due to come into effect in October, but after chancellor Rachel Reeves discovered what ministers described as a £22bn “black hole” in the public purse, plans were again postponed without end. .
Caroline Abrahams, director of the charity Age UK, said Casey's review could break the “log” on social care funding.
“We say 'possible' because although we have no doubt that Baroness Casey will do an excellent job, the real question is whether the government will act decisively on her decisions,” he said.
Woolnough at the King's Fund said the first phase of Casey's review should look at greater use of data and technology in the sector, better integration and The NHS and making social care for the elderly a more attractive career.
Streeting also announced an £86mn increase in Disability Grants this financial year, taking the annual total to £711mn, to allow more disabled and older people to make improvements to their homes.