Hello, I’m Louise Casey and I run the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care.

I think most of us want exactly the same things.

To be able to live well and to get old well.

The truth is, most of us don’t think much about adult social care until the day that we need it, either for ourselves, or for our families and loved ones.

For an older person, that might be when they start to become frail, when they start to need help around the home, or indeed, have just had their first fall.

For a disabled person, it might mean getting the support they need so they can carry on working, living, and indeed, loving.

Whatever our needs, after a lifetime of paying taxes, we expect there will be somewhere for us to turn to get help.

Just like that when we’re ill, we all turn to the NHS.

But sadly, too often this just isn’t the case.

Over the last year, I’ve heard from people who’ve told me that they think the system we have is just broken.

They feel left alone, trying to work out what help is available, where to go, how are they going to pay for it, at the very moment that they and their families have often hit a crisis.

Somebody diagnosed with dementia might be left with little more than a leaflet, trying to work out what support they need, where to find it, and frankly, what can be done.

Imagine if we treated somebody diagnosed with cancer in that way.

The time is right to fix this problem together.

It’s not beyond this country to take the big problems and to solve them. But to do that, and to do it right, the public must be involved right from the outset.

What is care?

Who should get the most help?

And who should pay for what?

That is what the Big Conversation on Care is all about.

So please, please take part.

One day, you or someone you love might just need that care and support.

So, please help us to fix this and to fix it together.

Thank you.