Wes Streeting and Bridget Phillipson handed responsibility for social care in Labour government
The Labour Party's Bridget Phillipson, who oversees education, and Wes Streeting, in charge of health and social care, are working together as secretaries to improve services for the public.
Wes Streeting and Bridget Phillipson have been given the job of looking after social care in the new Labour government, which has just come into office.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has chosen them for cabinet positions that align with the responsibilities they had while in the opposition.
Streeting is now the health and social care secretary, which means he will be in charge of overseeing the NHS and adult social care.
Meanwhile, Phillipson has been chosen as the education secretary, responsible for overseeing children's social care, early education, schools, higher education, and apprenticeships.
Like their Conservative counterparts before them, Streeting and Phillipson must decide how much focus they will give to social care in relation to other important issues in their roles. Streeting will likely prioritize the NHS, while Phillipson will likely focus on schools and childcare, which are more politically relevant topics.
In contrast to social care for adults or children, these policy areas are included in the five main goals that Labour has identified as its top priorities, as well as the six initial actions the party has outlined for government.
The Labour party's plan for the election did have some ideas for adult social care, like setting up a fair pay agreement for care workers to make their working conditions better. But they didn't provide any money to make these ideas happen.
While it was not specifically mentioned in the party's manifesto, Streeting confirmed in interviews that they were dedicated to implementing the adult social care charging reforms proposed by the previous government. This includes placing a limit on care costs, and they aim to have these reforms in place by October 2025.
But, as per the research organization the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Conservative government did not set aside any funds for this, leaving Labour to come up with the necessary funds. This presents a challenge considering the new government's promises not to increase income tax, VAT, or national insurance rates, and to reduce public debt as a percentage of GDP in the long run.
The party's manifesto promised less support for children's social care compared to services for adults.
The main promises are to make regulations in the industry stronger and enhance communication between different agencies by giving children and families their own identification numbers. However, Labour did not give much information on these plans.
