Policy paper

Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care

The government’s new plan for healthcare, adult social care, and our new funding plan.

• From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street, Cabinet Office and Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 7 September 2021
• Last updated: 12 September 2024
  Show all updates

  1. 12 September 2024

     Updated to inform that Following an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 July 2024, the planned adult social care charging reforms, which were inherited from the previous government, will not be taken forward in October 2025.

  2. 8 March 2022

     In 'Adult social care charging reform: further details', added section 'Indexation of reform parameters' to reflect that the level of the cap, the upper and lower capital limits, and the level of daily living costs will be reviewed and updated annually.

  3. 28 February 2022

     Updated the case studies in 'Adult social care charging reform: further details' to reflect likely inflationary changes in the rate of the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) or Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA) after reform is implemented from October 2023. The MIG or PEA figures remain the same in the current system. In addition, the case studies were simplified to remove Attendance Allowance, and now reflect daily living costs at the forecast level they will be in October 2023.

  4. 5 January 2022

     Added document 'Adult social care charging reform: impact assessment'.

  5. 3 December 2021

     Updated 'Adult social care charging reform: further analysis' to include reference to an interactive chart showing users with different care journey lengths, and to correct a figure that lowering daily living costs would cost around £600 million more.

  6. 19 November 2021

     Added attachment 'Adult social care charging reform: analysis

  7. 17 November 2021

     Added attachments 'Adult social care charging reform: further details' and 'Adult social care charging reform: the public sector equalities duty impact assessment'.

  8. 15 September 2021

     Welsh translation added

  9. 7 September 2021

     First published.

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Documents

Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care

HTML

Adult social care charging reform: further details

HTML

Adult social care charging reform: analysis

HTML

Adult social care charging reform: public sector equalities duty impact assessment

HTML

Adult social care charging reform: impact assessment

PDF, 1.95 MB, 139 pages

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Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care

Ref: CP 506

PDF, 6.03 MB, 35 pages

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Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care (web accessible version)

Ref: CP 506

PDF, 680 KB, 32 pages

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Adeiladu'n Ôl yn Well: Ein Cynllun ar gyfer Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol (Welsh translation)

PDF, 609 KB, 34 pages

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Details

Following an announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 29 July 2024, the planned adult social care charging reforms, which were inherited from the previous government, will not be taken forward in October 2025.

The ‘Build Back Better’ paper sets out the government’s new plan for health and social care.

It provides an overview of how this plan will tackle the electives backlog in the NHS and put the NHS on a sustainable footing. It sets out details of the plan for adult social care in England, including a cap on social care costs and how financial assistance will work for those without substantial assets. It covers wider support that the government will provide for the social care system, and how the government will improve the integration of health and social care. It explains the government’s plan to introduce a new Health and Social Care Levy.

This paper was laid in Parliament on 7 September 2021.