Labour is preparing to omit details of how to fund a reformed social care system from its next election manifesto as it prepares to put a “bombproof” offer to voters before polling day.
After a successful conference in Liverpool last week, which resulted in the party extending its poll lead over the Conservatives, shadow cabinet ministers are now turning their minds to the precise shape of a manifesto for an election next May or October. Senior figures said the focus would be on producing an offering that was “affordable” in a difficult financial climate, as well as being “credible” and “deliverable”.
The next election
According to senior party figures, Keir Starmer’s team – while committed to social care reform – do not want to offer the Conservatives a target that would invite them to attack the plans and make claims about the tax implications. Instead, there would be a general commitment to make changes when in office. In 2010, Labour’s plans for funding social care were branded a “death tax” by the Conservatives and hit the party’s vote badly.
“We need to give ourselves cover to do reform in the manifesto, without giving the Tories a target to attack us. We can’t allow the issue to dominate a campaign again,” said a party source.
In his speech to the Labour conference, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said there was “no solution to the crisis in the NHS that doesn’t include a plan for social care”, but merely repeated promises to create a National Care Service that would guarantee better pay and conditions for carers, and aim to address recruitment and retention problems.
Responses
Inevitably, experts and organisations that have been pushing for social care reform for decades – and which have been dismayed by endless delays by successive governments – are disappointed that Labour is not coming forward with more detailed ideas. Sally Warren, director of policy at the King’s Fund health policy thinktank, said: “We need to see much more detail about what both parties will do to ensure the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on social care get the care and support they need.
“The Conservatives had previously committed to introducing a new cap on care costs and making the means tests more generous, but having already delayed implementation once until after the election, they need to confirm that they intend to see their policy fully funded and delivered and won’t continue to kick the can down the road.
“Labour have so far focused their social-care policy thinking on growing and supporting the workforce – a vital area that does need attention. However, they can’t continue to remain silent on the vexed question of how to pay for the social care we need in society – how to improve the quality and availability of social care, and, crucially, how to share the costs of social care between the family and the state.”
Liz Jones, Policy Director at the National Care Forum stated “As the voice of the not-for-profit social care sector we have set out our must haves for the next government which focus on key issues, particularly around workforce and the need for an economic strategy for social care which are of utmost importance.
While the Conservative conference yielded nothing by way of any sort of commitment at all on social care, it was refreshing to hear Labour make commitments on workforce issues with the pledge of a Fair Pay Agreement and a workforce plan as part of a National Care Service, and for the Liberal Democrats to pledge a guarantee for free personal care for everyone in England and support for unpaid carers.
Whatever the date of the next election may be, we’re calling on all parties to ensure the needs of people receiving care and those delivering it, whether as a member of the workforce or unpaid carers, receives positive recognition and a place in election manifestos. Social care matters to us all and it’s about time we saw this reflected in a positive light, rather than used as a political football”.
Curia’s NHS Innovation and Life Sciences Commission
Jointly chaired by former Life Sciences and Innovation Minister, Lord James O’Shaughnessy and former Deputy Medical Director at NHS England Professor Mike Bewick, the Commission seeks to identify examples of good practice in innovation, draw learning and consider how implementation plans across the sector can improve the lives of patients. By bringing together key strands of policy and developing effective implementation strategies through extensive research, the Commission seeks to see change at every level within the NHS.