Burnham to address social care, youth unemployment and devolution
Prime Minister Andy Burnham outlines plans to tackle social care, youth unemployment, and devolution during his first weeks in office.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Andy Burnham will address youth unemployment and devolution in the coming week.
- Downing Street described the areas as some of the most difficult issues ignored for too long.
- The prime minister announced multiple pledges during his first week in office.
Andy Burnham is set to separately address youth unemployment and devolution in the coming week. Downing Street described the three core 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 back in 2009 when he served as health secretary under Gordon Brown. Now, as prime minister, he has vowed to spend his political capital on resolving the issue.
A No 10 source stated that Andy is going to run towards problems that have been neglected, giving people hope again. Unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use, leaving individuals with savings worth more than £23,250 ineligible for financial help with care costs from their local council.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The ongoing crisis in adult social care remains one of the most stubborn policy challenges in the UK, struggling with chronic underfunding and complex jurisdiction between local authorities and healthcare providers. Successive prime ministers have promised sweeping reforms, making any new administration's commitments heavily scrutinized regarding how they plan to fund these ambitious long-term care overhauls.
Burnham is certainly not the first leader in recent years to promise action. In 2019, during his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson pledged that the Conservative Party would fix the crisis in social care once and for all. Five years later in July 2024, Keir Starmer faced sharp criticism when Labour scrapped plans for an £86,000 cap on personal care spending.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, a long-time advocate for social care reform, remarked on Saturday that this has to be the start of a real effort to end the social care catastrophe, while questioning how the prime minister intends to pay for these sweeping promises.
"This has to be the start of a real effort to end the social care catastrophe."
Sir Ed Davey
During his busy first week in office, Burnham has also 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 starting in January. Furthermore, his government announced a 20% reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues across England starting in April.
Source: BBC Health
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