Burnham calls for National Care Service acceleration

Social care commitments

Cameron Roberts
clock • 4 min read

Prime Minister Andy Burnham today (29 July 2026) announced three key social care priorities for his new cabinet, including opening the door to launching a National Care Service.

Burham spoke from a Jewish Care centre in North London, setting the state of social care firmly in his sights. Regarding the current state of social care, Burnham said: "It's a major dereliction of public duty that Parliament has not faced up to this of all challenges, something so fundamental to life as this.  "It's shameful, to be honest, that politicians have put point scoring before fixing this issue." The Prime Minister pointed to the "lose-lose situation" regarding social care's relationship with the NHS, which sees those in social care referred to A&E. Burnham said last mont...

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