UK politics: Burnham does not rule out tax rises for social care reform – as it happened

The prime minister says that current inefficiencies in the system will be tackled first, as he reveals final recommendations will be out by summer 2027 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 markI 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