Downing Street said on 29 September 2026 that the government intends to establish a National Care Service in the next Parliament, with free personal care for older people provided according to need rather than ability to pay. The announcement came from Prime Minister Andy Burnham and was presented as a new settlement for later life, combining pension uprating with a new approach to social care entitlement. (gov.uk) The immediate policy point is that ministers are no longer describing social care reform only as a long-term aim. In the press release, the government says legislation to change State Pension uprating will be introduced during the current Parliament, while the care service itself is to be built in the following one. That separates the funding legislation from the full entitlement rollout. (gov.uk)
Under the plan set out by Downing Street, the current Triple Lock stays in place until April 2030. After that, the State Pension would rise each year by inflation or 2.5%, whichever is higher, with an additional mechanism intended to keep the pension's value in step with earnings over time. Savings generated by that revised formula are earmarked for the National Care Service. (gov.uk) The service is due to be introduced in phases rather than on a single start date. The government says scope will expand as savings grow and as workforce and provider capacity is built, with Baroness Casey asked to advise on how and when the model is developed through her independent commission. Downing Street says her report is due in summer 2027. (gov.uk)
During the current Parliament, ministers say the existing Triple Lock will remain unchanged and will lift the State Pension by more than £2,000. From April 2030, the revised formula would still protect against higher inflation, keep the 2.5% floor and allow a larger increase where needed to preserve the pension's value relative to earnings. (gov.uk) The worked example in the press release is important for interpreting the design. If the State Pension is worth about one third of average earnings in 2030/31, the government says subsequent uprating would move with earnings to preserve that relationship over time. Ministers also state that nobody's pension would fall in cash terms under the adjusted system. (gov.uk)
The fiscal case is central to the announcement. Downing Street says the adjusted Triple Lock is estimated to reduce State Pension spending by £15 billion a year by the end of the 2030s and by £50 billion a year by 2050, with those savings used to fund the National Care Service rather than additional borrowing. (gov.uk) For policy readers, the significant point is the sequencing. The government is tying social care expansion to a savings profile that rises over time, while also linking rollout to staffing and provider capacity. In practice, that points to a staged entitlement model rather than a full national offer from day one. (gov.uk)
Ministers are making the case for reform by linking social care failure to NHS performance. The Prime Minister said that an unreformed care system will eventually 'break the NHS', citing pressure on A&E departments and delays in discharging patients because appropriate care is not in place at home. (gov.uk) The government also points to distributional problems in the present system. According to the press release, around three in four adults over 65 are expected to need care and support later in life, while one in seven may face costs above £100,000. The release says people with similar day-to-day needs can be charged differently depending on whether their support is treated mainly as a health need or a social care need. (gov.uk)
The proposed entitlement is narrower than a fully free care system. Downing Street says the new service will cover personal care, including support with eating, bathing and using the toilet, and that access would be based on need rather than ability to pay. (gov.uk) Accommodation costs are not included. The press release says bed and board would remain outside the new entitlement, with existing means-tested council contributions still applying. It also says councils would continue to disregard the value of a home where a partner or dependent relative lives there, and that deferred payment agreements would remain available for eligible people. (gov.uk)
Baroness Casey's commission remains the main route for detailed design. Downing Street says the commission will continue its work on implementation and will begin the next phase of its 'Big Conversation on Care'. Earlier Department of Health and Social Care documents described the commission as a two-phase process, with medium-term recommendations in 2026 and longer-term transformation work reporting by 2028. (gov.uk) One point still to be settled is territorial scope. Previous Department of Health and Social Care reform papers state that the wider adult social care programme applies to England. On that basis, the precise reach of the National Care Service, and the detail of the legal entitlement it creates, will need to be made explicit when legislation is published. (gov.uk)