13 Jul 2026
The public will be invited to help shape the future of adult social care in England as part of a major national conversation being launched by the Casey Commission later this summer.
Speaking at the Local Government Association Annual Conference, Baroness Louise Casey said meaningful reform cannot succeed without first securing public support for the difficult decisions involved.
She described adult social care as a “patchwork of services” rather than a true system, arguing that decades of piecemeal change have left people facing a confusing and often frustrating experience when trying to access support.
The Commission’s “Big Conversation” will seek the views of hundreds of thousands of people across the country, exploring fundamental questions including who social care should support, what people should be able to expect from the state, the role families can reasonably play in caring for loved ones, and how the system should be funded.
Baroness Casey warned that previous attempts to reform social care had either focused on isolated parts of the system or failed because they lacked public backing for the difficult choices involved.
“We cannot keep pretending that a few tweaks will fix adult social care or attempt major reform without the public’s backing.
“That means having a proper conversation with the public about who social care is for, what the state should provide, what families can reasonably be expected to do, and what we should all contribute in return.”
The Commission’s first report, expected later this year, will set out recommendations for creating a National Care Service, with longer-term work on funding continuing into the second phase of the review.
The announcement comes as councils continue to highlight the growing pressures facing adult social care services, with local government expected to play a central role in delivering any future reforms.
