Davey calls on PM Burnham to end the “social care catastrophe” as data reveals family care costs have soared 60% in five years

EMBARGO: 00:01 Monday 20th July

Party analysis also shows that 2026 has seen a record number of people stuck in hospital because they don’t have support to leave.

As Burnham enters Number 10, the Liberal Democrats have set out three tests for Andy Burnham on social care as party leader Ed Davey warns that failure to act will be “a catastrophe for families, for the NHS and for local services”. He has argued that a “refusal to grasp the nettle of care is why Britain feels ungovernable and in decline.” It follows the party leader making an open offer to the Labour leader to work together across party lines on the issue.

The tests come as new House of Commons Library analysis commissioned by the party shows that individual contributions to local authority social care rose 60% between 2020/21 and 2024/25, from £2.93bn to £4.68bn. At the same time social care has risen to an eyewatering 78% of councils' main budgets.

The Liberal Democrat tests for reforms to end the social care crisis are:

1. Put family carers front and centre with guaranteed rights for every carer, including respite care and a full replacement of the broken carers allowance so that families can afford to care.
2. A universal safety net of care, including free personal care.
3. Protect people from catastrophic costs so no family sees their finances devastated by care needs.

Despite record costs for families and communities, fewer and fewer people are able to access care - with nearly 1 million people denied care packages in 2024/25 and 6,000 dying while waiting for social care that never came.

There has been a major knock-on effect on the NHS, with record numbers now stuck in hospital who are medically fit to be discharged. Party analysis has found that a record 2.46m hospital bed days have been lost to delayed discharges so far in 2026, higher than the equivalent period for any previous year.

Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey said:

“The social care crisis is a catastrophe for families, for the NHS and for local services.

“Commentators and politicians pontificate as to why Britain feels ungovernable and in decline. I’ll give them the answer: it’s the refusal to grasp the nettle of care.

“We are stuck with a system that better resembles the 1920s than the 2020s. Where elderly people are left bedbound without support, and where families lose everything on care home fees. Where local services are defunded to prop-up a broken model which politicians have not had the courage to touch.

“Liberal Democrats stand ready to work across party lines to tackle this existential crisis. For carers and for our country. Nothing matters more.”

Liberal Democrat Health and Care Spokesperson, Helen Morgan added:

“Our three tests are integral to ending the devastating social care crisis. Through supporting family carers we can finally recognise the millions of people looking after their loved ones and protect them from poverty and exhaustion. People want to look after their family members - and it saves the NHS a fortune - so why do we neglect them and treat them as disposable?

“Through a universal safety net of the most essential care we can ensure no one is denied the dignity and independence they deserve. This would go hand in hand with protection against catastrophic costs, so that if you get dementia or a long term disability, you and your family don’t lose everything you’ve worked for - just because of ill fortune. 

“The cost of inaction is simply too great - we must act with courage, put aside party politics, and end the social care disaster once and for all.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Ed Davey’s letter to Andy Burnham can be found here

House of Commons Library Analysis of Adult Social Care income from client contributions. Sums are £000s of millions

Original source of stats here

As outlined in the Adult social care data dictionary client contributions are the amounts individuals contribute to their local authority care and support plan. It includes both contributions paid directly and those through deferred payment arrangements (where people use their home’s value to cover care costs).

Lib Dem analysis of delayed discharges can be found here. Original source of stats here

Lib Dem analysis of people denied social care support, including those dying waiting for support, can be found here

At least 1 in 7 people over 65 now run up care costs of over £100,000 in their lifetime:

Access for older adults to social care has steadily fallen from 8.2% of over 65s accessing care  in 2003 to just 3.6% in 2024/5.

In June an average of 13,618 a day were unable to be discharged from hospital because they didn’t have the right support in place - up by more than 1400 since Labour took office in July 2024.