Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting announced today an independent commission into social care costs and reforms, including more funding for elderly and disabled people to make home improvements.

He said the government planned, "to finally grasp the nettle on social care reform.”

But he quickly came in for criticism after it became clear that the proposals on long-term funding are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 at the earliest.

Mr Streeting has set up an independent commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, which will begin work in April but is not due to publish its final report until 2028.

The first phase will report to Sir Keir Starmer in mid-2026, looking at the issues facing social care and recommending medium-term reforms, while the second phase is expected two years later and will make recommendations for the longer term.

Mr Streeting said the government's ultimate aim is "a new National Care Service, able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st Century."

Stephen Lowe, group communications director at retirement specialist Just Group, said: “Nobody with a political memory longer than 10 years will be surprised at Wes Streeting’s announcement today to set up an independent commission on social care – after all the Royal Commission delivered its recommendations in 1999 and the Dilnot Commission delivered its findings in 2011.

“The true challenge facing the Government is not in setting up a commission but in delivering the findings of one.”

He said the announcement is likely to drive four more years of paralysis rather than planning, which will hit the millions of unpaid carers who are making daily sacrifices to support elderly family members.

Mr Lowe said: “The longer a government takes to deliver a policy the deeper the crisis becomes, and the more vulnerable people and their families will suffer.”

Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon said: “As our population on average lives longer, providing and funding social care for our elderly is one of our greatest societal challenges.

“It’s a challenge which affects millions of individuals across the country – both those needing care and their families who support them. We need a solution which is widely accepted as fair across society and generations.”

 He said to allow advance planning, there needs to be a deal which is stable over many decades meaning cross-party support is essential.

Mr Cameron said: “But with the second phase of the Commission’s findings not due until 2028, this raises the prospect of tax rises being discussed in the run up to the next election.

“After decades of delay, the millions of individuals affected are crying out for clarity on care costs to enable them to better plan for later life.”

There have been several commissions, reviews and inquiries over the past 25 years that have failed to bring change to social care. The 2011 Dilnot Commission plan for a cap on individual care costs came closest, making it into legislation, but was not implemented, because of lack of funds.