'Nothing is off the table': Andy Burnham to set out major social care reforms

Andy Burnham will today set out his plans for an NHS-style social care system in his first Labour conference speech as Prime Minister.

Outside the conference site in Liverpool however, unions have been protesting over the rights for overseas care workers.

Mr Burnham said he will “lay out a very clear path for the country” in his speech, including information on social care reform.

The Prime Minister has long called for a national care service, which offers adult social care free at the point of use.

He blamed the “cowardice” of previous generations of politicians for failing to “grasp the nettle” of reforming the system in England.

Mr Burnham said nothing was off the table to pay for the reforms, which would be put to the public at the next general election.

The Prime Minister told LBC: “I will lay out a very clear path for the country tomorrow and it won’t do the usual conference thing, perhaps of just going for the big attack lines on the others and the rabbits out of the hat, I will say things of substance.

“People will then be able to hear and decide whether they think it is the right direction for the country.”

The Prime Minister will say: “We can’t carry on as we are. Politics-as-usual has taken Britain backwards.

"More of the same isn’t good enough and isn’t going to get us where we need to be.”

He is expected to make an array of announcements, on public control of utilities, youth unemployment, as well as social care.

The Prime Minister will say that “hope comes from honesty and from saying the things politicians usually avoid”.

Mr Burnham’s previous attempts to reform the social care system as health secretary which could have been funded by a levy on estates was condemned as a “death tax” by opponents.

But he indicated he was prepared to have another attempt at a taxpayer-funded national care service, despite the potential unpopularity it would cause.

He told the BBC: “Nothing is off the table at this moment in time. Now that doesn’t mean that I’m going straight back to the proposal that I had in 2010.”

Baroness Louise Casey is leading a review of social care and Mr Burnham is committed to cross-party talks to try to find a consensus.

A free at the point of use care service, similar to the NHS, could cost up to £18.5bn a year in 2035/6, the Health Foundation think tank has estimated.

Mr Burnham rejected that assessment and pointed out there would be savings to the NHS from people who no longer needed emergency treatment or a hospital bed because they had better social care provision.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech, Unison led a protest against the Government, accusing ministers of breaking promises made to migrants who came to the UK to work in the health and social care sectors.

General secretary Andrea Egan told protestors outside the Liverpool conference centre that the NHS, social care and other essential services relied on the hard work of migrant staff.

The union is calling for the five-year qualifying period to be retained for all skilled workers.

Ms Egan said: “People who came to this country to help look after our loved ones are forced to work on restricted visas under harsh rules which make them second class citizens.

“Now the promise of being able to settle in the country after five years is not only being broken but replaced with the threat of 15 years of insecurity and exploitation.

“Moving the goalposts at this stage in the game is wrong and unfair.

“Migrant workers must not be made scapegoats for decades of political failure to invest in public services.

“The Prime Minister talks about building a national care service, an idea Unison fully supports.

“However, that will require respect and appreciation for what care workers do and urgent action to retain the workforce.”