Downing Street says free personal care under the National Care Service announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham will be only for people in England aged 65 and over, and ministers say any change for working-age disabled adults waits on a commission reporting next year.
Health and Social Care Secretary Yvette Cooper has promised a national collective pension scheme for adult social care workers in England, but has not said when it starts, what it costs or who pays.
The County Councils Network says rising costs, with adult social care among the main drivers, will leave county and rural councils in England spending £7 billion a year more by 2028/29, and it wants the Autumn Budget to act.
Policy and reform · Population
People aged 85 and over, UK (2022-based national population projections) · Mid-2022 to mid-2047
Note: 2022 is an estimate and 2047 a projection based on past trends. ONS says projections are not forecasts.
Source: ONS, National population projections: 2022-based (opens in a new tab) Published 27 September 2026
Community Integrated Care and Care England broadly welcomed Andy Burnham's National Care Service proposals but demanded sustainable funding, fair pay and inclusion of working-age adults with disabilities.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said scrapping the pensions triple lock to fund free social care would be morally wrong and risked repeating anger over Winter Fuel Allowance cuts.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC he wants a free, universally funded national care system in England, though he denied the Health Foundation's £18bn cost estimate.
Professor Martin Green of Care England welcomed Andy Burnham's commitment to reform but urged government to focus on outcomes, not ideology about who provides care.
Andy Burnham said he would set out detailed plans for a free national care service and put them before voters at the next general election, warning broken social care would break the NHS.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said adult social care complaints climbed 22% last year to 3,938, yet it upheld fewer cases, 698 compared with 776 previously.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Labour's conference he would fund a free national care service by reforming the state pension triple lock.
Andy Burnham proposed altering the pensions triple lock from 2030 to help pay for a new national care service in England, but analysts doubt it would raise sufficient funds.
Economist Sir Andrew Dilnot told the BBC that an NHS-style, fully funded social care system would cost a huge amount and could take many years to introduce, as PM Andy Burnham delays detailed plans until after the next election.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has asked Baroness Casey to review options for reforming adult social care funding in England, with findings due by April 2027.
Care England reports new Oxford-led research finding many care leaders already use AI daily but face uncertainty over governance, training and regulatory expectations.
ADASS president Phil Holmes welcomed Andy Burnham's proposals for universal adult social care but urged ministers not to wait until 2029 to act.
LNT Care Developments has agreed a sale and leaseback deal worth £1.1bn, transferring freehold ownership of 45 operational and planned care homes to US-based CareTrust REIT.
DHSC's Duncan Burton and Sarah McClinton urged care workers to take up the free winter flu vaccine from 1 October, saying it protects colleagues and vulnerable people they support.
The Carer reports that former Prime Minister David Cameron will host a new four part Bloomberg podcast series exploring recent progress in Alzheimer's research and potential treatment breakthroughs.
University of Bristol researchers funded by BRACE Dementia Research have converted the high-risk APOE4 Alzheimer's gene into the lower-risk APOE3 form, Dr Kevin Kemp said.
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