PM Andy Burnham to host cross-party social care summit in Finchley

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will hold a summit on social care in Downing Street on Wednesday, inviting Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to find a cross-party solution to England's care crisis. The summit comes as Burnham prepares to deliver a speech at a care home in Finchley, north London, where he will call for an end to decades of political deadlock on the issue.

Burnham, as reported by The Independent, said: "Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring. Nowhere is that more urgent than social care." He added that governments have "kicked this issue down the road" because it was seen as "too risky, too difficult, and too complicated." The prime minister argued that the human cost of inaction means "carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain."

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Local context: Finchley care home visit

The prime minister's speech, scheduled for Wednesday morning, will take place at a care home in Finchley, Barnet. The visit is intended to highlight the impact of the social care crisis on local communities. Barnet, like many London boroughs, faces significant pressure on adult social care services, with rising demand and funding constraints. The choice of Finchley underscores the government's focus on finding solutions that affect residents across the capital.

Public consultation and National Care Service

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Baroness Louise Casey, who leads the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, will launch the Big Conversation on Care — a public consultation designed to gather views on the future of adult social care in England. The consultation will be accessible via an online platform, asking people about the values and principles they expect from a care system. Baroness Casey, as reported by The Independent, said: "For too long, we have been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, another review, and then retreat, while the people who need care, and their families, bear the brunt."

“Fixing adult social care is about far more than money. People are already paying for failure through council tax, pressure on the NHS, their savings, giving up work, and the forced sale of their homes.”

Baroness Louise Casey, Independent Commission on Adult Social Care

The commission will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service, a long-standing Labour ambition. Burnham will be joined at the care home by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Political reactions and funding concerns

The summit comes amid growing economic pressures. A major think tank has warned that inflation could reach almost 4 per cent next year, and the government's capacity to borrow has been exhausted, meaning any new spending must be funded through tax rises or cuts elsewhere. This affects defence, where Burnham needs to find between £5bn and £18bn to meet commitments, with suggestions of issuing war bonds.

Tory shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew, as reported by The Independent, said: "The Conservatives are ready to work with Labour on measures that improve social care provided they are not reliant on yet more tax rises and borrowing." Badenoch has also offered to work with Burnham but warned against new taxes. Sir Ed Davey said: "There have been 22 failed attempts at reforming social care since 1997. To see the 23rd effort work, we need to do things differently."

The prime minister has not invited Reform UK to the talks. Reform responded by accusing Burnham of wanting to revive his 2009 'death tax' plan, which would have imposed a levy on assets when people died. Downing Street immediately denied the claim.

What happens next

The summit on Wednesday is the first step in a process that Burnham says will lead to a National Care Service, with recommendations from the Casey commission expected in the coming months. The Big Conversation on Care will run as a public consultation, with the aim of designing a system that gives people "dignity, security and the support they deserve." Burnham has said he is "prepared to put everything I've got behind it."