Andy Burnham facing fresh questions over ‘unfunded spending’ as new PM set to unveil plan to fix social care

Andy Burnham is coming under increasing pressure to explain how he will fund his spending commitments after it was revealed the new prime minister plans to start a social care overhaul next week.

On his first day in office, Mr Burnham said he did not want to end his term as prime minister without making the tough decisions needed to tackle England’s social care crisis, which he claimed had bedeviled governments for almost three decades.

But after a series of mini-promises to cut business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues, cut VAT on energy bills and cap bus tickets at £2, the Conservatives challenged Mr Burnham to explain where the money was coming from.

When Mr Burnham was health secretary in 2009, he tried to raise a levy with cross-party support to fund the social care crisis. But Conservatives at the time turned on him and accused him of trying to invent a new “death tax.”

It now plans to make tackling the crisis a priority in its second week, with a Downing Street source saying he “has the courage” to tackle problems and make tough choices. He is expected to make interventions on youth unemployment and transfer of authority in the coming days.

A No 10 source said: “Andy will give people new hope by running into problems that have been neglected. “He has the courage to tackle the toughest problems that have been ignored for years and [are] It is seen as impossible to solve.

“He doesn’t accept that they are. They can no longer be ignored.”

“The Prime Minister is determined to show that governments can make people’s lives better if they want to. He wants Britain to believe again.”

Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use, and its high cost sometimes means people have to sell their homes to meet their needs. People with a savings value of more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with maintenance costs from their local council.

Mr Burnham has already promised to “use some of them”. [his] It’s about the issue of “political capital”.

But in 2019, Boris Johnson said in his first speech as prime minister that the Conservatives would “solve the crisis in social care once and for all”; but this promise did not come true.

Labor faced criticism after winning the 2024 election led by Sir Keir Starmer for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in the UK would have to spend on personal care over their lifetime, arguing the proposal was not “deliverable” in the time frame.

Mr Burnham said governments’ failure to act over the past decade was “indefensible”.

The prime minister and his choice for chancellor, John Healey, are already under pressure to explain how they will continue with a series of support packages they have announced for bus travellers, energy consumers and people drinking in pubs.

The Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank, estimates this week’s pledges will cost more than £2bn in 2029-30 and narrow the fiscal gap to £8bn.

Mr Burnham has been accused by the Conservatives of a spending spree.

In a letter to Mr Healey, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused the prime minister of making “unfunded promises” and said the country “cannot afford to tax, spend or borrow to avoid difficult decisions”. He said the Prime Minister’s promises would raise concerns about tax increases in the next Budget.

Sir Mel said: “Andy Burnham came into office without a plan. He made a lot of promises but seems to have little idea how he would pay for any of them.”

“These unfunded commitments will fuel concerns and speculation about further Labor tax increases as well as further borrowing in the next Budget, leaving a crippling burden for future generations.

“Britain cannot afford this; businesses and households must not be left in the dark. That’s why I’m calling on John Healey to come clean about the true cost of Burnham and tell us who he expects to pay for it.”

However, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey expressed his support for a renewed focus on the care sector.

He said: “I really hope this is the start of a serious and lasting effort to end the social care scourge. Andy Burnham says he is willing to spend political capital on this issue, and so am I. I will fight relentlessly to make sure family carers are not forgotten in this debate.”