'IT'S BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS' WE NEED CARE PLAN

KEIR STARMER'S three-year delay in reforming social care is "inappropriately" long and will fail millions, says a key expert.

- Martyn Brown

Sir Andrew Dilnot hit out at the PM, saying it is "blindingly...bleedin' obvious" that care ought to be properly funded in an affluent society.

The architect of the axed "Dilnot reforms" attacked Labour for launching another lengthy probe into the long-term funding of support for the elderly. He said the responsibility lies with Sir Keir to sort out the broken social care system once and for all.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting last week announced that an independent commission, led by Baroness Louise Casey, would begin in April.

The latter phase of the two-part review will not make its final recommendations for England until the end of 2028, a year before the next General Election.

But Sir Andrew said that ideas for reform should come in the first half of this Parliament - and the Prime Minister should even consider putting up taxes again to pay for them." He told MPs on the Commons health and social care committee yesterday: "I'd certainly like to see the commission report earlier and I'd very much hope that it will.

"I don't get the impression that Louise Casey is somebody who likes to hang about.

"I can't think of any reason why it should take three years.

"The commission that I was part of took a year, a year from being commissioned to final reporting." He also hit out at ministers from the current and former Governments for having "not had courage to go forward and do something".

The economist - architect of plans for a cap on care costs back in 2011welcomed the fact that the newly announced commission would be "another chance to try to raise this set of issues up the agenda".