Prime Minister Andy Burnham “has the courage” to fix adult social care and will make a start next week, a source has said.
Mr Burnham believes the issue of how adult social care works and is funded in England has been “neglected” by previous administrations.
The Prime Minister is also expected to make interventions on youth unemployment and devolution in the coming days.
A No 10 source said: “Andy is going to run towards problems that have been neglected, giving people hope again.
“He has the courage to fix the most difficult issues that have been ignored for years and seen as impossible to resolve.
I'm used to people telling me things can't be done.
I didn't accept it then. I won't accept it now.
It's time to get Britain believing again and bring back hope.
This week is just the start.https://t.co/JqO6N6rlGi
— Andy Burnham (@andyburnham) July 25, 2026
“He doesn’t accept that they are.
“They can’t be ignored any longer.
“The Prime Minister is determined to show that governments can make people’s lives better if they choose to.
“He wants to get Britain believing again.”
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use and high costs sometimes mean people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.
People with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council.
Mr Burnham has already pledged to “use some of my political capital” on the issue.
But in 2019, in his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson said the Conservatives would “fix the crisis in social care once and for all”, something that failed to come to fruition.
Labour, under Sir Keir Starmer, faced criticism after the party was elected in 2024 for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, having argued the proposals were not “deliverable” in the time frame.
Across the country people want to see change for the better. pic.twitter.com/WvHQaq9cIV
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) July 25, 2026
Mr Burnham said the failure to act over recent decades was “not defensible”.
His devolution plan will involve handing mayors a share of income tax revenue to spend on their cities, the Times reported.
The Prime Minister and his pick for Chancellor John Healey are already under pressure to say how they will sustain a raft of support packages they announced for bus passengers, energy billpayers and pub punters.
The Resolution Foundation has estimated that this week’s pledges will cost a total of more than £2 billion in 2029/30.
Mr Burnham also launched No 10 North this week, hosting a meeting in Manchester with Cabinet ministers and devolved mayors.
Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Where’s the money coming from, Andy? We’re all dying to know.
“It is all well and good for the Prime Minister to promise to fix the issues facing our country, but how is he going to pay for them? So far, he has failed to convincingly explain how he will pay for the policies he has already announced. We can only conclude that more tax rises are coming down the track that families simply cannot afford.”
This has to be the start of a real effort to end the social care catastrophe. @AndyBurnham says he’s willing to spend political capital on this – and so am I.
I’ll fight to ensure family carers aren't forgotten. We need cross-party consensus, and I hope the PM’s door is open. https://t.co/VDYkobmVHj
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) July 25, 2026
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “I really hope that this is the beginning of a serious, lasting effort to end the social care catastrophe.
“Andy Burnham says he is willing to expend political capital on this, and so am I.
“I will fight relentlessly to make sure family carers are not forgotten in this debate.
“They do the heavy lifting in our society and deserve proper support.
“Fundamentally, we cannot fix this system without cross-party consensus.
“I hope the Prime Minister’s door will be open so that we can finally get this right together.”
