Burnham to address social care, youth unemployment and devolution

Andy Burnham will make a speech on social care next week as part of what No 10 says is an attempt to show he is "hitting the ground running" as prime minister.

He will also separately address youth unemployment and devolution in the coming week.

Downing Street described the three areas as "some of the most difficult issues facing the country that have been ignored for too long".

Burnham first proposed a universal system of social care in England in 2009 when he was health secretary under Gordon Brown. He has vowed to spend political capital on the issue as prime minister.

A No 10 source said: "Andy is going to run towards problems that have been neglected, giving people hope again."

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The source said: "He has the courage to fix the most difficult issues that have been ignored for years and seen as impossible to resolve. He doesn't accept that they are. They can't be ignored any longer.

"The prime minister is determined to show that governments can make people's lives better if they choose to. He wants to get Britain believing again."

Unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use, and people with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council.

Burnham would not be the first leader in recent years to pledge to address the issue of adult social care.

In 2019, in his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson said the Conservative Party would "fix the crisis in social care once and for all".

Five years later in July 2024, Keir Starmer faced criticism when Labour scrapped plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who has pushed for social care reform, said on Saturday: "This has to be the start of a real effort to end the social care catastrophe."

He added: "I'll fight to ensure family carers aren't forgotten. We need cross-party consensus, and I hope the PM's door is open."

Burnham responded to Sir Ed on X, writing: "It most certainly is, Ed. Let's work together to find some common ground."

Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative Party, said: "Where's the money coming from, Andy? We're all dying to know.

"It is all well and good for the prime minister to promise to fix the issues facing our country, but how is he going to pay for them?"

In the first week of his premiership, Burnham has pledged to end rough sleeping in England, cut VAT from domestic electricity bills in the current financial year, and reduce the cap on bus fares outside of London from £3 to £2 from January.

His government also announced it would cut business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues in England by 20% from April.