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Burnham says social and palliative care needs to be fixed before assisted dying is debated
The prime minister will speed up Louise Casey’s review and seek consensus on workforce reform, with 408,985 people awaiting care assessments.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham accelerated Baroness Louise Casey's independent review of adult social care, confirming it will report next year while inviting Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders to immediate cross-party talks to design a national care service.
The NHS loses around £2.5 billion annually keeping medically fit patients in hospital due to lack of community care; previous governments failed to reform the system, viewing the task as 'too risky, too difficult, and too complicated.'
Baroness Casey launched a 'Big Conversation on Care' to solicit public opinion on funding models, while Prime Minister Burnham insisted manifesto pledges against raising income tax, national insurance, or VAT remain in effect.
Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders accepted the invitation to collaborate, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage criticized the exclusion, claiming Burnham is "conspiring behind closed doors" and calling the process "uniparty in action."
Burnham argues palliative and social care funding must be fixed before assisted dying legislation advances, though economists warn that finding necessary funds amid a £24 billion fiscal shortfall remains a significant challenge.