Why Andy Burnham is willing to bet big on social care reform

Andy Burnham speaks to residents, care workers, volunteers and social care stakeholders during a care home visit in north London (Picture: AP) For the second week of Andy Burnham’s policy lollapalooza, the freshly minted Prime Minister has set as his theme ‘chronic headaches’. These are the seemingly intractable issues that successive governments have tried and failed to tackle. Yesterday the focus was on those pesky NEETs, and today it’s social care in England. If you don’t have direct experience of English social care – first of all, lucky you. But here’s the situation: those with savings of more than £23,250 must pay all their costs, whether that’s a care home or at-home support. And that’s a strict threshold. Less than £23,250 means you can access support from your local council; a pou