Could transformation really be on the horizon?
Recently appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham has expressed his view that social care ought to be delivered on an “NHS basis”[1], this may give the public the opportunity to rely on social care at a greatly reduced cost, or potentially without the need for private funding.
Burnham has expressed a great need to review the social care sector in its entirety, saying “it is urgent, the need to fix social care, and I personally would look at all of the kind of implications of that in relation to inheritance tax and care changed and everything. I wouldn’t flinch from it”[2].
Burnham’s comments fall in line with Baroness Casey, Chair of the Casey Commission on Social Care, who on the 7th July stated that “We cannot keep pretending that a few tweaks will fix adult social care or attempt major reform without the public’s backing”[3]. Since Casey’s appointment to lead a commission on reforms to social care in 2024 she has been a proponent for the ‘National Care Service’, originally coined in 2010 during Burnhams time as Health Secretary. The commission is due to report back by 2027 their findings after Burnham requested for an earlier release date[4]. The National Care Service in 2010 was intended to bring social care ‘free at the point of use’[5] before being scrapped when the Conservative government took over the same year.
Should Burnham look to replicate the model for the National Care Service as in 2010, this may be funded through general taxation[6] (income tax remains exempt from this). Burnham will report back with a plan on how to deliver the National Care service in Summer 2027[7].
It has been recommended that an increase in national living wage must be brought into public sector care contracts to remain in line with costs[8]. As it stands now the Homecare Association has put £34.42 as the minimum price a social care provider needs to function, with the individual carers wage being at £12.71 an hour[9]. However as of now, councils remain under no duty to fund social care providers under the recent Fair Pay Agreement, social care providers may have to pay wages not funded by commissioners[10].
With that said, in a recent speech on the 29th July 2026 Burnham has said that he intends for the Fair Pay Agreement to improve the social care workforce and integrate it with the NHS workforce[11]. Burnham intends to make these changes following the release of the Casey Commission’s review and recommendations.
Homecare tenders may become more regulated should Burnham’s vision of a National Care Service come into fruition, with government intervention councils may look to follow a set framework issued by the government when putting out contracts.
However, for now any potential changes concerning a National Care Service and change in pay for those working in social care remain dependent on the Casey Commission’s review; and how exactly Burnham will look to implement the commission’s recommendations.
We will be monitoring developments in social care and how these may impact commissioning and future tenders. More details will be reported as future commissioning strategies become clearer.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/21/the-guardian-view-on-social-care-reform-andy-burnham-is-right-this-issue-must-be-gripped
[2] https://www.health.org.uk/features-and-opinion/blogs/what-burnham-could-mean-for-adult-social-care
[3] https://caseycommission.co.uk/2026/07/baroness-casey-warns-social-care-reform-will-fail-without-public-consent/
[4] https://caseycommission.co.uk/2026/07/demo-news-article-in-conversation/
[5] https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/12703_19-Towards-the-National-Care-Service.pdf
[6] https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/12703_19-Towards-the-National-Care-Service.pdf
[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026
[8] https://www.homecareassociation.org.uk/resource/homecare-association-response-to-the-low-pay-commission-2026.html
[9] https://www.loyals.uk/blog/home-care-cost-per-hour-uk-2026-27
[10] https://www.careengland.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Care-England-Scorecard-Two-Years-of-Promises-Final.pdf?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–kTlUR7QQYnqUzsaRvc7dIs3bS0l-IavtLyAxqq6dyu3EAEx2gKDtqic8YPP2hw7Hw1Q7Ly-ofktdXfsLvNSBLj-6SdaMV1DvTUINMaq8kNfqDZ-c&_hsmi=141781739&utm_content=141781739&utm_source=hs_email page 9
[11] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jul/29/andy-burnham-social-care-louise-casey-tories-kemi-badenoch-reform-nigel-farage-uk-politics-latest
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