Andy Burnham speech live: Emotional PM makes THREE key pledges to finally fix social care crisis

Andy Burnham speech live: Emotional PM makes THREE key pledges to finally fix social care crisis Prime Minister Andy Burnham is outlining how he will fix the creaking social care sector in a major speech this morning, and even invited Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey into cross-party talks Andy Burnham promised to fix the crisis-hit social care sector in a major speech this morning, and a new dementia tsar would be appointed. The new Prime Minister warned the creaking system can no longer be used as a political football while the NHS and families looking after loved ones count the cost. He invited Tory chief Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to urgent talks to discuss the problem governments have kicked into the long-grass for decades. Ahead of his speech, Mr Burnham said: “Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.” He added: “It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain. “This comes down to a choice. We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.” Follow below for all the latest updates Key Events Andy Burnham has said Britain needs to fix the funding of social care and palliative care before it engages in a debate about legalising assisted dying. Asked for his position on the debate, the Prime Minister said: “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first. “That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care. “I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care. “That’s the way I kind of see this, and that’s the position that I will stick to.” Andy Burnham said he did not want people to sell their own homes to fund social care costs. "I think it's a really awful process," Burnham said of people who sell their homes to fund adult social care. "I think the whole thing is horrendous." Andy Burnham said he would honour NATO commitments to invest more in defence. The PM revealed money was tight in government but that he would honour NATO commitments to increase defence spending. It comes amid questions over how social care reform will be funded. Andy Burnham said there would be “difficult decisions” on tax as part of social care reform, but vowed to “be honest with people” and “do more” within existing resources first. Andy Burnham has said he wants the fixing of paliative care should be fixed first before a greater debate on assisted dying. "I take the view that debate...personally I think the fixing of the funding of paliative care needs to happen first," Burnham said in response to a Sky News question on assisted dying. PM Andy Burnham has launched his campaign to fix social care by setting three key aims: - Baroness Louise Casey has been asked to bring her social care review forward by a year - Social workers' pay and career progression will be reviewed - Launch cross-party talks with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to find some kind of consensus Prime Minister Andy Burnham said cross-party talks on social care were the “right thing to do” although he acknowledged he had the “scars” from previous attempts to change the system. Speaking at a care home in London, he said: “The third announcement is to start right now initiating cross-party talks on social care. “And yes, I have been here before, and yes, I do have some of the scars of that, but it’s the right thing to do. “I stood on the steps of Downing Street just a few days ago, and I said I wanted to create a new way of doing politics in this country, more problem solving, less point scoring, and this is the first big test of that, and I mean what I say. We won’t fix this through politics as usual.” He said parties would need to find “common ground” to get a “lasting solution” and that “that process starts today”. He added: “Who knows how long I will be in this position? But as long as I am, I will do my best to find a solution, and I would never forgive myself if I left without having tried because of some of the headlines that will inevitably appear and some of the efforts that some people will make to create scare stories about the whole issue.” Andy Burnham said adult social care practice was a "question of standards" after being pressed on tax rises. He said changes could be met within current costs and that good practice was happening in some care providers today. "Before we talk about tax rises we need to look the public in the eye and say are we doing everything we can do with what we've got?" Burnham added. Andy Burnham batted down speculation a new election was on the horizon. Answering a question from the BBC, Burnham said he wanted to bring forward Baroness Casey's review next year - far away from an election. He added there was "no election on the horizon." Andy Burnham said he wanted to create a “bigger reform” of social care wages, so that carers are paid more in line with NHS workers. The Prime Minister said: “The second announcement is to immediately – and not wait for the review – focus on the social care workforce. “We already have a situation where the Government has agreed a fair pay agreement for social care staff to come in financial year 2028-29, and that is a major step forward. “And I pay tribute to Keir Starmer, the prime minister as was, when that was brought forward. “That is a massive building block of a national care service, and what I’m going to ask the ministerial group led by Yvette (Cooper), Angela (Rayner), and John Healey joining too, will be to look at how we turn the fair pay agreement into a bigger reform to improve the social care workforce, to lift it up, to lift it closer to NHS standards.” Mr Burnham also said he wanted to improve the “training and the wider support” for carers. 'Why am I going to do this? For my dad and millions like him up and down the country," Burnham said. The PM said political point scoring has prevented major social care reform. "I would never forgive myself if I had not tried" to fix adult social care. He added stories of tax rises in the media did not show the true story about people who have lost their savings trying to pay for social care. Burnham said he wanted to start cross-party social care talks later today. He added: "The third announcent is to start right now initiating cross partt talks on social care. "And yes I've been here before and I've got some of the scars of that, but it's the right thing to do. "I stood on the steps of Downing Street just a few days ago and I said I wanted to do a new way of doing politics - more problems solving, less point scoring. I mean what I say. "We won't fix this through politics as usual. We have to bring a different approach. I've invited both of the main parties to start those talks." The Prime Minister said he did not want to wait for the review to "immidiately focus on the social care workforce." He said the workforce needed to introduce fairer pay in social care. "That is a major step forward," he said. "I pay tribute to Keir Starmer for whne that was brought forward. "What I'm going to ask the minierstial group, led by Yvette and Angela , will be to look at how we turn the fair pay payment to integrate it more into the NHS workforce and to think about progression routes for young people." Burnham said he wanted adult social care to be integrated with the health service as well as offering care at home rather in the hospital. The PM mentioned he wanted further preventative care. The PM said he has asked Baroness Casey to bring forward her independent review into adult social care by a year. He said: "The first is to ask Baroness Casey to bring forward her review by a year. "Working with Yvette and Angela we want to expedite that review. "Ideally we want to do it even sooner, but we've got to be realistically. If we say, a year from now, we can rise to this challenge." Andy Burnham said the pressure staff aare dealing with in social care is "too great." He said the current situation of vulnerable people ending up in hospital used to add to what was called "winter pressures" but that it had become a daily issue. The Mirror's Assistant Political Editor Alexander Brown here.... Much like his address outside Downing Street, Andy Burnham is once again speaking without notes, a move that impressed many MPs, who said it allowed him to seem more natural and sincere. This event is being framed as being to launch a "national conversation" about social care, an issue that Mr Burnham says has seen two million adults have unmet needs. Understanding the personal is political, Mr Burnham references his own experiences, as he brands politicians failure to address the crisis as "shameful". While this speech is light on policy, it's a statement on intent. The PM is saying he knows it is not good enough, and his Government will work at pace to change it. Baroness Casey said the Big Conversation On Care will be a “gamechanger that tries to renegotiate the social contract”. Speaking at a care home in London, she said: “Today, everyone, we are launching the Big Conversation On Care… “What does care mean? Who should get it? What should you do as a family? How much could you do for yourself? And how do we get this right? And then when does the state step in? “And more importantly, at some point for all the politicians, who pays? But actually, who pays is a personal thing. There are people out there right now in this country paying huge amounts of money towards their care, and we shouldn’t forget that. “The Big Conversation is, I think, going to be the gamechanger that tries to renegotiate the social contract, I think is what people would say, with the public.” Introducing Prime Minister Andy Burnham, she said he is “the son of a dad who has Alzheimer’s and is therefore completely cognisant of the difficulties and challenges in daily life”. Andy Burnham said the "current situation is bad for everybody" for people accessing adult social care. "It does break people," the Prime Minister added. He said "hundreds of thousands of pounds can just disappear" when trying to pay for care. Andy Burnham said there had been a "major dereliction of duty" that Parliament has not stepped up to fix social care. "One group to blame is my generation of politicians," Burnham said, bemoaning how different governments have not dealt with adult social care reform. A “dementia tsar” will be appointed later this summer, the new Health Secretary has said Speaking at a care home in London, Yvette Cooper said the Government is launching a new ministerial group which will be “accelerating” their response to social care issues, including workforce problems. She added: “But also crucially to take forward (Baroness Louise Casey’s) first recommendations, particularly to appoint later this summer a dementia tsar to take forward the improvements that we all badly need to see.” Adult care workers should be among "the best paid in the world," Burnham has said. He said it was humbling to watch carers who have come from around the world look after his dad. Burnham said he wanted to recognise the organisation of care workers in the industry. Burnham revealled he was going to speak from notes, but said he wanted to talk from the heart about adult social care. "I see so much good, in terms of the journey that we've been on," Burnham said, as he spoke about treatment his dad had received. Baroness Casey has launched the "big conversation" on ault social care. She said: "Today everyone, we are launching the big conversation on care. "The key thing here is all the previous 22 reviews might've had an idea they could solve it again, but nobody had the big conversation "What does care mean, how can we get it right, and when does the state step in?" Andy Burnham's speech on adult social care has begun. England's broken care system can break families," said health secretary Yvette Cooper. She said: "A broken social care system can also break families and can bring the NHS to breaking point as well. "And since I was elected as a member of parliament, there have been 22 different attempts to reform social care, going back to the Royal Commission in the late 1990s. "We cannot keep walking away from this problem." Baroness Casey revealled she has gone over 22 reviews into adult social care. She said: "What nobody got right was an involvement with the general public about where we are as a country right now."