Social care reform ‘remains an absolute priority’ for the Government, insists Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid has insisted social care reform “remains an absolute priority” for the Government, amid claims he wants to delay the proposals.
It is more than 100 weeks since Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to “fix” social care and said his plan was already prepared.
Ministers have since repeatedly committed to bring forward proposals “later this year”, without offering any further detail.
Speaking in the Commons, shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth asked: “Will we see a plan to fix social care or is today’s Telegraph correct when it reports that the Secretary of State is of the opinion that we’re at completely the wrong stage of a parliament to launch a social care strategy?”
New Health Secretary Mr Javid replied: “I should warn him not to believe everything he reads in the press, I think he should know that.
“Social care remains an absolute priority for this Government, for me.
“The Prime Minister himself has rightly made some very clear commitments on social care and we absolutely intend to meet them.”
Mr Javid said “sustainable funding” needs to be part of the solution.
He added to Tory former health secretary Jeremy Hunt: “He will remember as ministers we often worked together in the past – and again I look forward to working with him in different roles now – on the same issue, which is how do we provide a long-lasting sustainable solution to the social care challenge this country faces.
“This remains a huge priority.”
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