Will social care reform be delayed yet again?

Labour’s Liz Kendall is today calling for the government to treat social care in the same way as it treats physical infrastructure. In a speech this afternoon, the shadow care minister said that ‘in the century of ageing, social care is as much a part of our economic infrastructure as the roads and the railways’. This is quite a challenging analogy, as the state of the social care sector would make even the most outdated and crumbling parts of the northern rail network look pretty luxurious and well-appointed.

Kendall is also speaking as a battle rages within government over whether social care reform will make it into the Queen’s Speech. James reported in his Times column last week that there was a debate about whether a plan should be included, largely because ministers still haven’t decided what that plan would involve.