Andy Burnham pledges free personal care in England at next election

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has used the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to set out plans for a national care service in England, with personal care free at the point of use. In an interview, he said the system would work on NHS principles: free at the point of use and universal. He said the public finances made careful delivery essential, and that the change would not come before the next general election.

Under the proposal, England would copy Scotland's funding model for personal care, which covers help with washing, dressing and using the toilet. At present, personal care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is means tested, based on income and savings. In Scotland, eligible adults receive free personal care. People living at home pay nothing for that support, while those in residential care can still pay for accommodation and food. Personal care payments go directly to providers and reduce care home bills. One family in Kelso said the payment was just over £1,000 a month.

Burnham has pointed to Scotland as an example. But the plan faces funding questions. Social care experts said not enough money is put into the Scottish system, affecting pay and the sustainability of providers, especially in rural areas. A care home manager said funding barely covers the care they want to provide, with rising electricity, gas and staffing costs. The Scottish government said it has provided a record £2.3 billion for social care. It recognised delivery challenges and pointed to the rise in employer national insurance and the closure of visas for international health care workers.

The plan does not include Wales and Northern Ireland, which would continue to make their own decisions on social care funding. It also would not happen before a general election. Burnham said the proposition would be put to the country at the next election and would be on the ballot paper with a precise explanation of how it would be funded. He suggested Labour's own rules not to put up income tax or national insurance made the change too difficult in this Parliament, and hinted they could be looked at again at the next election. The Conservatives said they would not support tax increases to fund changes to social care.

Reform has been an ambition of successive governments for over two decades. Gordon Brown, Theresa May and Boris Johnson all tried, but proposals proved politically controversial and were ditched. Burnham drew on his own experience, saying the recent death of his father Roy, who had Alzheimer's, had been hard but pushed him to grasp the nettle. A former senior minister under Keir Starmer suggested trade-offs might be needed, including reform of the expensive pensions triple lock to help fund social care. The conference message was that Labour wants voters to feel hopeful, but delivering big pledges in difficult economic circumstances would not be easy or popular.