Burnham to give speech on social care as Louise Casey plays down cost concerns saying many families ‘already paying’ – UK politics live

Q: [From ITV’s Rebecca Barry] Can the government realistically reform social care without raising taxes?

Burnham says existing resources can be used more effectively.

double quotation mark I think more is possible from within existing resources. And the things that I’ve talked about today, particularly around the workforce, will be fully funded.

I think it is possible from existing budgets to do much more.

I mentioned that whole thing of people coming into hospital unnecessarily from social care settings, then having a long stay in hospital as a result of that unnecessary admission, and then a long period where they’re medically fit to leave, but can’t, because the care is not available. Now, that very last bit has been [estimated to cost the NHS] £2.5bn a year.

If you add all of it up, you are talking several billion pounds a year is lost from the lack of a preventative front-end social care service that’s well supported.

Burnham says government needs to address these problems “before we talk about tax rises”.

double quotation mark I think Louise [Casey – see 10.18am ] indicated some of what we would want to in the fullest sense will require difficult decisions.

double quotation mark But we will be honest with people about those. We will put them before the country at the right time, and we will hopefully proceed with people’s consent.