March 2026 Newsletter: The journey to calling for a moment of reckoning on adult social care

Published 13 March 2026

Welcome

This newsletter follows Baroness Casey’s first speech at the Nuffield Trust Summit on Thursday 5 March 2026, calling for a national “moment of reckoning” on adult social care. This first edition looks back at the work that led to this moment. It includes some of the conversations, visits and evidence that have helped shape the Commission’s thinking during its first year.  

This marks the first in a series of newsletters that will be released each month. We plan to keep you updated on what we have been up to, different areas of our work and share ways to get involved.

How we got here: key moments so far

Since launching, the Commission has actively engaged with over 400 people – including those who draw on care, unpaid carers, frontline care staff, national organisations, local leaders, NHS partners and care providers. We’ve met people through a combination of visits, evidence sessions and events, all of which have helped us build a picture of the challenges and opportunities for reforming adult care.   

During this first part of our work, we have been focusing on:

• Hearing from people across the country. The team have visited every English region, hearing first hand from people their experiences of social care. We are so grateful to everyone who has welcomed us to their workplace, community centre or even their home to talk to us and share their views.
• Understanding and analysing previous research and reports. There have been many attempts to review and reform social care. The team has been looking at what has come before, what’s stopped previous attempts from progressing and speaking to experts about their ideas for change.
• Understanding public and political views on social care and approaches to reform. This has included holding cross-party talks and speaking to national research bodies about recent polling and survey data. 
• Getting to know stakeholders. We’ve been meeting people and representative groups from different parts of the social care system to help us capture its variety and complexity and hear their views on priority areas for change.

Below we share a few key moments of our activity so far. You can also find updates on our website’s news page, and you can sign up to receive notifications when new updates are added.

The Speech

In her speech to the Nuffield Trust, Baroness Casey said social care has never had its own “creation moment” and called for a national reckoning equivalent to Beveridge’s reforms in 1948. She also set out how there is currently a reliance on cobbled together underfunded services relying on low-paid care workers, a lack of ownership and accountability, and a deep divide between health and social care which leaves families to navigate alone.

Baroness Casey also confirmed that she has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asking the Government to take six immediate actions on dementia, motor neurone disease and adult safeguarding, reflecting the urgency of reform needed in these areas.

Drawing on the evidence gathered during the first phase of the Commission’s work, she also spoke about the urgent need for a clearer national conversation about what social care should provide, who it is for, and how it should be supported in the future.

The speech marked an important milestone in the Commission’s work and reflected the insights and experiences shared with us by hundreds of people across the country so far. Further information, including the speech, transcript, and the letter sent to the Secretary of State, is available on our website.

Looking ahead: What’s next?

2026 is set to be a big year for the Commission team with our first report due to be released and the launch of a National Conversation with the general public to get more people talking about the future of adult social care. We will be regularly updating our website with news, you can subscribe for updates here.

How you can get involved: share your experience

The Commission wants to hear from as many people as possible. Whether you draw on care, work in care, support others, or simply have an interest in how the system works, every voice matters. You can share your experiences or ideas for improvement via our website form.

Thank you for reading our newsletter and to everyone who has contributed to our work so far.