Care England: outcomes, not ideology
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.
September 2026
34 items this month
Week commencing 28 September
Burnham care plan welcomed, with caveats
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.
Burnham to reform triple lock for care
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told Labour's conference he would fund a free national care service by reforming the state pension triple lock.
Burnham eyes triple lock to pay for care
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.
ADASS urges action on care before 2029
ADASS president Phil Holmes welcomed Andy Burnham's proposals for universal adult social care but urged ministers not to wait until 2029 to act.
Unite opposes triple lock cut for care
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.
PM asks Casey to review care funding
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.
Dilnot: NHS-style care may take decades
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.
Why older people keep quiet about falls
University of Winchester research suggests older people worry about falling but are reluctant to raise it with health professionals, because of the stigma they attach to falls.
Errors in DHSC care statistics
DHSC says processing and submission errors affected its January and April 2026 client-level data on long-term support and assessments, and it will correct them. The next release is due on 1 October.
Equity in the National Care Service
At a Labour conference panel run by SCIE and the Centre for Care, speakers argued that equity must sit at the heart of social care reform and National Care Service planning.
Source: The Carer (opens in a new tab)
Dilnot on the cost of free care
Sir Andrew Dilnot, whose review of care funding reported 15 years ago, told the BBC an NHS-style care system could take decades to build and would cost a very substantial amount.
Source: BBC News (opens in a new tab)
How likely are you to become a carer?
Asked in late August, the public guessed that 38% of people in the UK ever become unpaid carers, far fewer than actually do, according to research reported by The Carer.
Source: The Carer (opens in a new tab)
Week commencing 21 September
Burnham wants free care in England
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.
Burnham plans free national care service
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.
Care complaints up 22%, fewer upheld
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.
Bristol lab alters Alzheimer's risk gene
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.
Radio 4 on the politics of care reform
On Radio 4's Westminster Hour, a cabinet minister was reported as saying the government has about two and a half years before an election to make its case on care reform, against 2017's six-week campaign.
Source: BBC Radio 4, Westminster Hour (opens in a new tab)
NIHR opens a £45m research call
NIHR has opened a £45m first round of Strategic Infrastructure Partnerships, including research into technology that helps people live well and independently at home. Awards run from £6m to £15m.
ADASS on equity as a legal duty
ADASS President Phil Holmes says a webinar with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and CQC concluded that equity in adult social care is a legal duty, not a nice to have.
What complaints say about commissioning
Care England reviewed almost 450 Ombudsman decisions from June to August 2026 and found recurring problems with communication, care planning, record keeping, complaint handling and commissioning.
Source: Care England (opens in a new tab)
Care home buyers stay busy
Christie & Co's Care Market Review 2026 says over half of the operators it surveyed plan to buy another care home within a year, after a record £12bn-plus of deals in 2025.
A provider answers Casey on profit
A care provider who invited the Prime Minister to his home last month said calls to tackle profiteering must not condemn the many providers delivering good care on modest margins.
Source: The Carer (opens in a new tab)
Care England on menopause support
Care England argues that menopause support in social care must go beyond written policy to workplace culture and everyday support.
Casey backs a dementia waiting target
On BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Baroness Casey backed a proposed 18-week referral-to-treatment target for dementia in England.
Source: BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour (opens in a new tab)
ONS on heat and cold deaths
ONS modelled estimates link about 149,000 deaths in England and Wales between 1988 and 2025 to the coldest days and about 42,000 to the hottest.
Week commencing 14 September
NHS trial of dementia home technology
An NHS trial run by the UK Dementia Research Institute, with more than 250 families, is testing smart mattresses, sensors and wearables to help people with dementia live safely at home.
Social workers polled on pay claim
In a Community Care poll of 507 social workers, the largest group backed unions lodging the 2027-28 local government pay claim early, after this year's 3.3% rise was reluctantly accepted.
MHRA safety alert on hoists and slings
The MHRA has issued a National Patient Safety Alert on hoists and slings: care homes and home care providers must complete five actions by 16 September 2027, and the alert warns CQC may act if they don't.
Report urges cancer-style dementia care
The King's Fund and Alzheimer's Society have published a joint report calling for a cancer-style transformation in dementia care.
Source: Alzheimer's Society (opens in a new tab)
Skills for Care urges survey responses
Skills for Care's chief executive, Oonagh Smyth, is urging care staff in England to complete the government's Adult Social Care Workforce Survey, as ministers take forward the Fair Pay Agreement.
Source: GOV.UK Social Care blog (opens in a new tab)
MPs reject assisted dying bill
MPs rejected the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at second reading on 11 September by 286 votes to 270, ending the latest attempt to change the law in England and Wales.
Week commencing 7 September
MPs endorse CQC chair choice
MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee have endorsed Baroness Julia Neuberger as the government's choice to chair the Care Quality Commission.
Source: Health and Social Care Committee (opens in a new tab)
Marie Curie writes to the Prime Minister
Marie Curie's chief executive, Matthew Reed, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister calling the palliative care system broken, as assisted dying returned to Parliament.
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