NHS collapse warning
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told the BBC that the National Health Service 'will collapse' if social care is not reformed. He warned that without changes, the NHS would collapse under the weight of trying to care for people who had not needed to end up in the system. Burnham said the NHS will never get back to good waiting time standards until social care is fixed. He made the remarks in his first major interview since becoming prime minister.[S1][S2][S3]
Pressed on whether he would create a new system before the next election, Burnham said he 'couldn't put a timeline on it right here, right now'. However, he said he would put 'whatever political capital I have into fixing broken social care'. He also said he would not want to leave office without bringing substantial change. Burnham ruled out an early general election.[S1][S2][S3]
Social care reform timeline
Burnham first proposed a universal system of social care in England in 2009 when he was health secretary under Gordon Brown. As prime minister, he is due to make a speech on adult social care on Wednesday. The BBC understands he will stop short of unveiling plans for a new system, instead announcing he is speeding up the Casey Commission, an independent review considering possible solutions. Baroness Louise Casey was not expected to give final recommendations until 2028, but Burnham wants to bring her schedule forward. He told the BBC: 'Social care was on a longer path and I have brought it straight forward.'[S1][S2]
Adult social care provides support to help people live independently, from personal care to household tasks. Unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use. In England and Northern Ireland, people with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with care costs from their council. Different rules apply in Wales and Scotland. Two years ago, Labour scrapped plans for an £86,000 cap on lifetime social care spending. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has written to Burnham, saying any solution must be fair to those who have saved. She challenged him to rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to fund social care reform. Burnham has previously suggested a levy on all estates, dubbed a 'death tax' by the Tories, but it was never implemented.[S1][S2][S6]
Benefits reform
The prime minister also addressed benefits in his interview. He said he might 'increase the conditions on people required to receive benefits', telling the BBC he believed there are people who can go into work with the right support. He said the country had to get 'really serious' about reducing the welfare bill. He added that there are people in their 20s who have been let down by the system. The issue of benefits spending caused problems for his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, who faced a backbench rebellion in 2025 before ministers backed down.[S1][S2][S3][S4]
Burnham said mental health support should be provided 'in work' to support people, and he would not pursue 'crude cuts' to benefits. He pointed to the sell-off of social and council homes in the 1980s as a factor that increased the housing benefit bill. He argued that building new council and social homes would help reduce the welfare bill in a fair and sustainable way. The Conservative Party has been critical of high levels of spending, with Badenoch repeatedly telling Labour to cut it to fund defence.[S3][S4]
On a lighter note, Burnham said his dog Axel would not move into 10 Downing Street because he would not get on with Larry the Cat. He joked that bringing Axel to disturb Larry's world was a big decision that had been made. Burnham, who only re-entered parliament for the first time since 2017 in June, said he would not change coming into the job.[S1][S4]
