Social care reform – once more into the breach?

The government has announced the launch of a new commission to reform adult social care.

The announcement made on 3 January 2025 follows confirmation in the Autumn budget that implementation of the lifetime cap on social care costs would not go forward in October 2025 as proposed by the previous government (link to prev article Community care charging reform - Wrigleys Solicitors LLP).

The new independent commission will now take forward the government’s manifesto pledge to create a National Care Service for England, setting out recommendations to address the current failings within social care.

The commission’s work will be split over two phases, with the initial phase identifying some of the more critical issues facing the system and ways these can be resolved, which is due to report in 2026.

The second phase (expected to report in 2028) will set out a long-term vision for social care, building on the foundations from phase one.

Whilst the intention to build cross-party support has been welcomed by many within the sector, the lack of any concrete reform to social care funding and provision continues to affect the lives of millions across the country. Social care in England has been the subject of a multitude of commissions, White and Green papers which have wrestled with the thorny issue of reform with mixed results. It remains to be seen whether this latest commission will unlock the much needed improvements in social care which have been evaded for decades.