Wes Streeting Wants Labour’s Manifesto Plans On Social Care To Be “More Ambitious”

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has said he would have wanted Labour’s manifesto proposals on social care to be “more ambitious”.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg at the weekend, he said to get a policy into Labour’s manifesto he had to run a “gauntlet” of whether it was deliverable and affordable, suggesting there could be more spending on health than outlined in the manifesto in later years, but only if a Labour government was to be voted in and then succeed in its plan for economic growth.

He also revealed that Labour plans to honour the Conservatives’ pledge for an £86,000 cap on care costs by October 2025, which was not mentioned in the manifesto.

Adult social care charging reforms, including an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England has to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, had been due to be implemented by the Conservative Government from October 2023 but were delayed by two years.

Shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting was asked whether he could make a firm commitment to bringing in the cap in October 2025.

He told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme earlier in the week:
“That’s the plan, as things stand.”

When challenged that his comments did not sound like a firm commitment, he responded: “We don’t have any plans to change that situation and that’s the certainty and stability I want to give the system at this stage.”

In response, Conservative Mark Harper, the transport secretary, said Mr Streeting had “let the cat out the bag” that Labour would raise taxes if elected, although Mr Streeting denied this.