Prime Minister speech: building a National Care Service

29 September 2026

This afternoon the Prime Minister addressed the Labour Party conference setting out his priorities for this Parliament and his commitments for the future.

Andy Burnham is staking his premiership on introducing a National Care Service, free at the point of use and which is there for everyone. He spoke boldly of the need to stop being “too cowardly” to “fix the care we give to each other”. He presented the creation of a National Care Service as being “a landmark policy as significant as the creation of the National Health Service”.

He spoke passionately about the need for proper recognition of care workers, who “we will all need to rely on at some point in our lives.” Addressing care workers directly, the Prime Minister said: “I see you, I thank you and I’m sorry that my profession has let down yours for so long”.

The media focus

Andy Burnham’s speech, and its focus on social care, has been widely trailed by the media over the past few days.

It has been disappointing to see how much of the media focus has been on funding, with questions being asked about how much a National Care Service will cost and who will pay for it, before we’ve reached any common understanding of what it might look like and what good care should involve.

Of course, questions of funding are imperative, but first we must create a common understanding of social care, and a public discourse about how it is valued and what support we want across our lifetimes. This will help ensure greater understanding of what social care is and the difference we see it making to people’s lives every day.

What next?

Andy Burnham said he will work to get consensus on reform in advance of the next general election. For now, the details of how a National Care Service might work are being developed by Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care. 

We hope that the public panel being convened by Baroness Casey will spend time considering and discussing the quality and type of care and support we want, and not solely debating different funding mechanisms.

What change is needed?

From our contact with people in need of care and their families, we know only too well what changes they want to see in order to have the best quality of life possible.

Most often, feeling well cared for and supported is about making sure that we are treated with dignity and respect, feel safe, and able to live ‘a gloriously ordinary life’ with the support and care of those we want in our lives.

As the discussions about the future of care and support continue, we’ll be working hard to ensure the experiences and voices of older people in need of care are heard. We will continue to push for the change needed to create a better care system for us all.

How can I get involved?

Please support our work by making a donation.

To learn more about the changes we are calling for, you can read of Vision for Social Care.

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