Key Summary
- Existing care workers could be exempt from UK’s tough new immigration rules.
- Andy Burnham is reportedly considering waiving stricter right to remain rules for people already working in the sector.
- While Burnham is scheduled to deliver a speech on adult social care on Wednesday, he is expected to stop short of unveiling a fully formed new system.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham warns that the National Health Service (NHS) cannot survive without fundamental changes to adult social care, though he admits a new system will take time, according to the BBC.
In his first major interview since becoming prime minister, Burnham emphasised that fixing England's social care system is crucial to saving the NHS.
Although first proposing a universal care system as Gordon Brown's Health Secretary in 2009, Burnham acknowledged the political complexities involved-referencing how past proposals for deferred payments were labeled a "death tax" by critics.
While Burnham is scheduled to deliver a speech on adult social care on Wednesday, he is expected to stop short of unveiling a fully formed new system.
Instead, he plans to accelerate the timeline of the Casey Commission – an independent review led by Baroness Louise Casey-bringing forward recommendations previously targeted for 2028.
According to Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of healthcare think-tank The King's Fund, one in seven people currently pay over £100,000 for social care due to the "punitive system".
She noted that while creating an NHS-style care system free at the point of use would be costly, it remains in the "low billions per year" compared to the overall £200bn NHS budget.
Alongside social care, the Prime Minister signalled to the BBC potential changes to the welfare bill, stating the government needs to get "serious about getting the welfare bill down".
Burnham indicated he might "increase the conditions required to receive benefits," requiring individuals to take up available work opportunities.
He stressed he would not go "straight to blaming" benefit claimants, noting many young people in their 20s have been "quite seriously let down" by lack of early support.
Additionally, according to The Guardian, hundreds of thousands of care workers could be exempted from plans to toughen up the immigration system under proposals being considered by Burnham to prevent worsening shortages across the care sector.
Meanwhile, following cabinet shifts and Stephen Kinnock's move to Secretary of State for Wales, a replacement for the pharmacy minister role in the Department of Health and Social Care has not yet been announced.
