The prime minister had a chance to effect real reform. Instead, he chose the Tory base over disabled people and care workers
Two years after Boris Johnson promised a plan for social care, it can hardly be said that today’s announcement was “worth the wait”. As one Tory backbencher put it, “If the ‘big reveal’ of a decade of thinking is this, then some people want sacking.”
Unlike the NHS, social care – be it long-term support for elderly people in residential homes, or assistance to disabled people in their own homes – is not free at the point of use in England. Instead, it has been means-tested and provided by a patchwork of individuals, charities and private companies all overseen by local authorities.