May 2026 Newsletter: Cross-party engagement and constituency visits

On Tuesday 20 May, Baroness Casey chaired the second set of cross-party discussions at the Cabinet Office in London.

The session brought together politicians from across the political spectrum to discuss some of the challenges facing adult social care in England and reflect on what the Commission has heard through its work so far.

Baroness Casey and officials from her team provided representatives with an update on the work of the Commission, talking though data and evidence gathered so far and plans for the launch of a national conversation.

Attendees included:

• The Rt Hon James Murray MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Labour Party
• Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State for Care, Labour Party
• The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Conservative Party,
• Dr Ellie Chowns MP, Green Party spokesperson on Adult Social Care
• Helen Morgan MP, Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Social Care and Carers
• Anne Marie Morris, Reform UK spokesperson for Social Care

These discussions follow the Commission’s first round of cross-party talks held in September 2025 and form part of the Commission.

Read more about the Commission’s cross-party discussions.

As part of our cross-party work, the Commission has completed a series of visits to constituencies represented by MPs from each of the main political parties.

The visits were an opportunity for representatives from all parties to offer the Commission insights into the local challenges facing their constituents, and for us to understand more about the adult social care system in communities represented by politicians from across the political spectrum. As part of this work, senior members of the Commission team travelled to the Green constituency of North Herefordshire, the Conservative constituency of Daventry, Labour’s constituency of Ilford North, the Liberal Democrats constituency of North Shropshire and Reform UK’s constituency of Ashfield.

On these visits, the Commission saw a range of services supporting older adults and working-age disabled adults and held discussions with people with lived experience of care and support, unpaid carers, care workers, providers and local authorities.

Across the visits, the Commission heard about pressures facing families and unpaid carers, workforce challenges, provider sustainability, and the importance of more preventative and joined-up support.

The Commission would like to thank the representatives from each political party, and their teams, who helped organise these visits. We are also grateful to everyone who took the time to meet with the team, share their experiences and contribute to these discussions.

Earlier this month, Baroness Casey spoke at the Carers UK conference, where discussions focused on the future of work and the state of caring in the UK.

In her speech, Baroness Casey reflected on what the Commission has heard from unpaid carers across England, including the emotional, practical and financial pressures many people face while supporting loved ones. She spoke about the complexity of navigating health and social care systems and described how many carers feel left to coordinate support themselves.

Drawing on evidence gathered through the Commission’s engagement work, Baroness Casey said that too many carers feel forced into the role of unpaid “project managers”, trying to manage crises and fill gaps between organisations.

The speech received media coverage in The Guardian.

You can read more about Baroness Casey’s speech and the verbatim transcript here.

Earlier this month, Baroness Casey was interviewed as part of a live episode of the BBC’s Newscast podcast, recorded at the Hay Festival.

The discussion focused on Baroness Casey’s career, including her work on a number of major reviews and audits, as well as her views on the role of inquiries in driving change. The interview also explored her work as Chair of the Casey Commission, including the work the Commission has undertaken so far and the recommendations made to government earlier this year.

You can listen to the episode here.