UK Health Secretary Andy Burnham has not ruled out tax increases to reform the social care system, but believes existing resources should be used more efficiently first. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Responding to a question from ITV's Rebecca Barry about whether the government can realistically reform social care without raising taxes, Burnham said existing resources can be used more effectively. He stated: "I think more is possible from within existing resources. And the things that I've talked about today, particularly around the workforce, will be fully funded. I think it is possible from existing budgets to do much more."
Burnham highlighted the issue of people being unnecessarily admitted to hospital from social care settings, then having long stays, and those who are medically fit to leave but cannot due to lack of care. He noted that the latter costs the NHS an estimated £2.5 billion a year. "If you add all of it up, you are talking several billion pounds a year is lost from the lack of a preventative front-end social care service that's well supported," he said.
Burnham emphasized that the government needs to address these problems "before we talk about tax rises." He mentioned that Louise Casey (see 10.18am entry) indicated some of what they want in the fullest sense will require difficult decisions. "But we will be honest with people about those. We will put them before the country at the right time, and we will hopefully proceed with people's consent," he added.
Burnham's statement indicates that tax increases remain a possibility for social care reform, but the government will first focus on using existing resources more efficiently. The reform aims to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of the UK's social care system.