Fixing social care is urgent, says minister, after reports of impasse

Reforming the societal attraction strategy successful England is "urgent", furniture curate Louise Haigh has said, aft sources told the BBC determination was a "genuine impasse" astatine the apical of authorities implicit the issue.

The transport caput said the authorities had already taken steps to amended wage and tackle vacancies successful the sector, arsenic good arsenic giving councils an other £600m successful backing for big and children's societal care.

In its predetermination manifesto, Labour promised to make a National Care Service to present accordant attraction crossed the state - but truthful acold the enactment has fixed small item connected what this would look like.

Liberal Democrat person Sir Ed Davey called for cross-party talks connected however to betterment the strategy successful the long-term, but said determination besides needed to beryllium "immediate measures".

The premier minister, wellness caput and chancellor are owed to conscionable successful the adjacent 10 days to sermon the issue.

Multiple sources person told the BBC the Department of Health is keen to proceed with an overhaul of the societal attraction strategy but that the Treasury is reluctant to perpetrate to important costs without wide governmental backing from Number 10.

"It’s truly urgent that we hole this issue," Haigh said.

"For excessively agelong we’ve fto this occupation fester."

Pressed implicit whether the authorities was taking the occupation seriously, she told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the wellness caput had already acceptable retired a 10-year program for the NHS which included focusing connected prevention and assemblage care, which she said would "ease pressures connected societal care".

She besides pointed to the government's plans to amended wage and conditions successful the assemblage done a Fair Pay Agreement, allowing negotiations betwixt workers, unions and employers.

"We request to marque definite we are tackling those semipermanent issues successful the workforce, with progression opportunities, decently paid and decently negotiated connected a corporate basis," she added.

Ministers are considering whether to make a Royal Commission, with cross-party involvement, to see however to betterment the societal attraction system, oregon a shorter government-backed autarkic review.

Sir Ed said though the Lib Dems would backmost a Royal Commission determination needed to beryllium "immediate measures first" and it "must not beryllium an excuse for long-grassing this".

He said determination were things the authorities could bash "straight away", for illustration connected tackling vacancies successful the sector.

The Lib Dem person called connected the authorities to beryllium "more ambitious", pointing to his party's ain proposals for a higher minimum wage for attraction workers.

“Politicians person been failing connected this for acold excessively long," helium told the BBC.

"There are millions of radical suffering, families being deed financially, radical successful misery and pain, and we person got to tackle this."

He added that the Lib Dems were "willing and ready" to instrumentality portion successful negotiations implicit the contented but helium had not yet had a telephone from Health Secretary Wes Streeting to bash so.