Whack! That’s the sound of social care reform once again being hit into the long grass. Thud! Another hit sends it into a thicket of scrub. Not only has Labour announced a ‘longer-term’ solution to a problem the party itself has acknowledged is urgent by setting up a commission that won’t report until 2028, but it has also taken steps to make that reform even harder to realise by saying it is looking for a ‘cross-party solution’.
Ministers have set up a taskforce led by crossbench peer Louise Casey to draw up plans for a national care service, which will produce an interim report in 2026, and a final set of recommendations in 2028. The appointment of Casey is one of the few good things about this whole sorry story, along with more money going into the Disabled Facilities Grant, which allows people to install ramps, stairlifts and other adaptations to their homes.
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