Luke Murphy backs Andy Burnham's social care reform plan

Luke Murphy, who visited the Viables Memory Club Carers Support Group earlier this week, said it was "fantastic" to meet families and hear firsthand about the daily pressures they face.

The informal carers’ group, held on the last Monday of each month at Rucstall Community Centre, supports people caring for loved ones with dementia.

Mr Murphy said: "It was fantastic to visit the Viables Memory Club Carers Support Group this week and hear directly from carers about the challenges they face while supporting loved ones living with dementia.

"I heard about the lack of support available, long waits for care assessments, and the immense pressures placed on families.

"These conversations are invaluable, and I’ll be raising the issues shared with me as we continue pushing for better social care and improved support for people living with dementia and their carers.

Luke Murphy MP meets with Basingstoke carers (Image: Luke Murphy's office)

"Carers in Basingstoke have told me plainly that the current system is not working for them, and I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to tackling this problem head on."

At least one carer described their loved one dying before ever receiving a respite care assessment.

It comes days after the Prime Minister’s latest announcement on fixing the broken social care system—an announcement Mr Murphy has publicly welcomed.

Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, said social care reform cannot wait any longer.

He said: "Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics: problem-solving, not point-scoring.

"Nowhere is that more urgent than social care.

"For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated.

"Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.

"It’s time to draw a line under people playing politics when the human cost of that means carers struggling, families paying the price and our NHS buckling under the strain.

"This comes down to a choice. We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve."

Mr Burnham has already met with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to begin cross-party talks on urgent social care reform.

Baroness Louise Casey is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, which will make recommendations for a new National Care Service.

She is launching a "Big Conversation on Care" to gather public input through an online platform about what people want from the social care system.

Baroness Casey said: "For too long, we have been stuck in the same cycle: crisis, promises of reform, another review, and then retreat, while the people who need care, and their families, bear the brunt.

"Fixing adult social care is about far more than money.

"People are already paying for failure through council tax, pressure on the NHS, their savings, giving up work, and the forced sale of their homes.

"The choice is whether we keep putting money into a system that is unfair, unpredictable and broken, or have an honest conversation about how to build something better.

"That is why we need a public conversation on care that tackles the tough questions.

"It’s only by facing up to this problem together that we can fix social care once and for all."