England launches major public consultation on future of social care

The new UK premier, Andy Burnham, faces a challenging agenda as his government seeks to reform adult social care. At the same time, a large-scale public consultation called the “Big Conversation on Care” has been launched by Baroness Louise Casey, chair of the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care. The consultation will run for ten months, aiming to involve up to one million people across England. It is divided into two phases: from July to November it will gather views on the values, principles and eligibility for a future National Care Service; from December to April it will focus on funding arrangements and implementation methods.

The government says the exercise is intended to build public consensus before any lasting reform, after previous attempts were deemed to have failed. Burnham has invited opposition parties to discuss the reforms and has asked the commission to accelerate its final recommendations. The outcome of the consultation could shape how social care is integrated with the NHS and how it will be funded in the coming years.