Queen's Speech: Lack of social care plan 'unforgivable', says Labour's Sir Keir Starmer

The lack of a clear government plan to fix social care is "unforgivable", Sir Keir Starmer has said.

In Tuesday's Queen's Speech outlining the government's policies for the next year, there was a promise that proposals would be brought forward.

Boris Johnson made a pledge when he became prime minister in 2019 to "fix the crisis in social care".

But the Labour leader said it was "an insult to a whole nation" to have not acted sooner or given further detail.

Charities, campaigners and politicians have been calling for action over social care in the UK, with pressure on funding and staff exposed even further during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the King's Fund, 1.9 million people made requests for social care in 2019 - including both older people and working age adults with disabilities.

On his first day as prime minister in July 2019, Mr Johnson gave a speech on the steps of Downing Street saying he would "fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared".

However, the government has not put forward any proposals to be debated in the House of Commons.

Speaking in a debate after the Queen's Speech, Sir Keir pointed to the PM's previous pledge, saying it had now been 657 days since Mr Johnson had made it.

"Yet 657 days on from that promise what did we hear in this address? No legislation, no new funding, no details, no time scale," he added.

"Failure to act for a decade... was bad enough but failure to act after a pandemic is nothing short of an insult to a whole nation."

Mr Johnson responded in the debate, saying proposals would be brought forward "later this year" so that "every person receives the dignity and security they deserve".

We were told to expect a brief mention, and that's what we got.

Nine words in the Queen's Speech - "Proposals for social care reform will be brought forward" - were the only hint at the government's long promised vision for the future of social care in England.

There was no indication of when detailed plans will be published, even though it's nearly two years since the prime minister said he had a plan to fix social care "once and for all".

The pandemic has underlined the importance of the care system, which supports millions of people in their own homes and in care homes.

The government says it has put £1bn into care in the last year, but this is a sector which has faced years of underfunding and increasing demand, leaving it with deep rooted problems - including a low paid, under-recognised workforce.

Care providers question how much longer they can be expected to limp on without knowing what the future holds.

The PM also attacked Labour, accusing them of "doing nothing in the 13 years they were in office" - between 1997 and 2010 - about the issue.

Former Prime Minister Theresa May echoed her successor's point, attacking the opposition who she said "never delivered on this issue".

Mrs May also said she knew social care was "not an easy issue" - having had her own plan for it "comprehensively rejected" when she was in No 10.

But, she said it was an issue the government "needs to grasp".

The former PM added: "The issues around social care that came up in the pandemic have shown the importance of this and of reform that genuinely provides a sustainable social care system to the future."

Local authorities have also raised concerns about the lack of clear proposals in the Queen's Speech.

Councillor David Fothergill from the County Councils Network said: "We understand that the pandemic has taken precedence, but as the country comes out the other side councils need more than just an ambition to bring proposals forward."

The chief executive of the learning disability charity Mencap, Edel Harris, said she was "bitterly disappointed" that social care plans "only got a passing mention" in the speech.

She added: "Where's the ambition and funding when people are being left without the vital care and support they need to get by?

"Simply tinkering with parts of the system, at a time when the whole care sector has borne the brunt of this Covid crisis, risks becoming the prime minister's legacy."

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said the government "cannot continue with empty words" and must introduce "a radical plan to fix the broken care sector".

She added: "Covid has exposed the desperate and fragile state of social care. Those who rely on care and their families are being constantly let down, and poorly paid staff feel undervalued and ignored."