On July 29, 2026, Andy Burnham — the mayor of Greater Manchester — brought together top Labour politicians at a social care event in north London, hosted by a charity called Jewish Care. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, and MP Sarah Sackman all attended. The event was part of a bigger Labour plan to change how social care works in England. Social care means the help adults get with everyday tasks — like washing, dressing, and eating — when they are older or have disabilities. Labour wants this help to be run by charities, local councils, and not-for-profit groups, rather than by private companies backed by investors looking to make a profit. The Times reported on July 28, 2026, that Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to keep privately run care home chains out of the new system, so that taxpayer money does not end up boosting private investors' profits (The Guardian; The Times).

The Times article, written by Policy Editor Oliver Wright and Health Editor Eleanor Hayward, said Starmer wants the new model built around charities, local authorities, and not-for-profit companies. A senior government source told the paper the model will be 'more like the NHS or the Live Well scheme he pioneered in Manchester' (The Times). The Live Well scheme is a project Burnham started in Greater Manchester to connect people with local health and wellbeing services in their communities.

At the event, Yvette Cooper pointed out it has been 50 years since Barbara Castle, who was health and social services secretary at the time, argued for bringing the NHS and social care closer together. Cooper, who became an MP in 1997, said there have been 22 different attempts to reform social care during her time in Parliament (The Guardian).

Burnham posted a video on social media on July 29 saying he is 'prepared to put everything I've got' behind finding 'common ground' for social care reform (The Guardian). His message matches the government's overall approach. A speech from Starmer published on gov.uk on July 28, titled 'PM: Time for problem-solving, not point-scoring,' stated that 'People are already paying for failure' (gov.uk).

Baroness Louise Casey is leading a group called the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care. She is launching a 'Big Conversation' to get people across the country involved in the reform process. On the Today programme, Casey said dementia is a 'big hidden problem' in society and is the largest killer. She also talked about private companies running care homes, saying there is 'room for mixed market' — meaning some private involvement — but not 'profiteering out of misery' (The Guardian).

Casey gave evidence to a parliamentary committee on June 24, 2026, where she told lawmakers: 'Taxpayers are already paying quite a lot' for social care (parliament.uk). The care minister, Stephen Kinnock, told The i Paper on July 15 that the government's plans marked 'one more step towards a National Care Service' (The i Paper via Facebook).

The broader context here is that the government is framing the current system as a waste of public money. By arguing that taxpayers are already paying for a broken system, Starmer and Casey are trying to make it politically easier to shut private investors out of state-funded care. But there is a tension: Casey says she accepts some private involvement, while Starmer reportedly wants to exclude private chains entirely. That suggests a debate inside the government about how far the reform should go, and where to draw the line between acceptable private involvement and what Casey called 'profiteering out of misery.'

For the care sector, moving to a model like the NHS or Manchester's Live Well scheme would mean big changes. Local councils would need new ways of contracting with care providers, and charities and not-for-profit groups would need to take on the large volume of care currently handled by private chains. A key question is whether those organisations can handle that volume.

The 50-year history Cooper pointed to, between Castle's push and today's effort, places the Labour government's plans in a long line of attempts to bring the NHS and social care closer together. Kinnock's mention of a National Care Service suggests the current consultation is groundwork for a major overhaul, not just a small funding tweak.

What happens next depends on what comes out of Casey's 'Big Conversation' and how the government writes its plan to exclude private providers into law. Whether the model can win the cross-party 'common ground' Burnham is pushing for, or whether shutting out private equity leads to legal and practical clashes across the sector, will shape the future of adult social care in England.