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The Government has begun to give its proposed National Care Service a definite shape. It plans to begin introducing free personal care for older people in the next Parliament.Changes to the state pension triple lock would begin in April 2030. For councils, the question is pressing: what will turn a national promise into support people can count on locally?Removing charges for personal care could make a substantial difference. But free personal care is not free social care. Care-home accommodation and living costs will remain means-tested. Nor is the position of working-age disabled adults within the proposed entitlement settled. Its boundaries matter to those seeking to remain at home, work or manage changing needs.The Care Act already places wellbeing at the centre of councils' responsibilities. It concerns dignity, independence, relationships, participation and control over daily life, alongside duties covering assessment, prevention and carers. A new financial entitlement will sit alongside that wider framework. Its effect will depend on whether it strengthens people's ability to live their lives, rather than directing attention chiefly to a prescribed list of personal-care tasks.The pressures on councils are not theoretical. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services Spring Survey found that councils overspent adult social care budgets by £715m in 2025-26 and nearly 409,000 people were waiting for an assessment, support to begin, a direct payment or a review. That is before additional demand from a new entitlement. Removing charges could increase demand for assessments, staff and provider capacity.Spain's statutory dependency entitlement has been accompanied by lengthy waits and regional disparities, despite recent improvements.This raises the division of responsibility. National government can define entitlements, set minimum standards, distribute resources and oversee workforce development and delivery. It also has a role in market stewardship and sharing risks beyond individual councils. But deciding how support fits together in someone's life still requires local knowledge and relationships.Councils bring democratic accountability and responsibilities beyond commissioned care. Housing, public health, community support and safeguarding all shape what independence looks like in practice. A national floor is compatible with local flexibility over how outcomes are achieved. But councils need the resources and authority to exercise it. Otherwise, local discretion becomes the way national shortfalls are absorbed.The financial settlement must address that danger. If national government sets the entitlement while councils are expected to deliver it, the arrangements must establish who carries the pressure when demand or provider prices rise faster than forecast.Funding must recognise differences in populations, labour markets and care markets.Accountability must be built into the settlement. People need to know their entitlement, how to challenge decisions and who acts when support is unavailable. Councils need clear responsibilities. National government cannot hold them answerable for failures beyond their control. Reporting and redress must follow responsibilities and resources, rather than stop at institutional boundaries.The Netherlands offers a warning: dividing responsibility between municipal support and nationally funded long-term care created incentives to shift costs across that boundary. The lesson for England is that funding and accountability must be aligned. Councils should answer for how support is organised and delivered locally, while national government must take responsibility for the adequacy of the settlement underpinning its guarantee. There must also be a means of identifying and correcting shortfalls before they are passed on to people who need care.Timing creates another challenge.The Government intends to introduce free personal care in stages. The pace will depend on funding and whether care services can meet additional demand. Meanwhile, existing duties, waiting lists and provider pressures remain. So do the needs of unpaid carers and people requiring early help. Keeping today's services running and investing in tomorrow's system will overlap.A credible transition must stabilise existing provision, expand the workforce and increase assessment capacity. It must also develop prevention, reablement and more flexible community support. These tasks have different costs and lead times. Without a plan to build capacity in advance, the promise could outpace the means of keeping it.The order matters. An area cannot safely expand access if providers cannot recruit. Nor can councils assume that prevention will immediately release cash: benefits may emerge years later or accrue to the NHS rather than the council investing in support. A phased programme needs to show what happens first, how the transition is paid for and what evidence would justify expanding the entitlement.Accountability must be built into the settlement. People need to know their entitlement, how to challenge decisions and who acts when support is unavailable. Councils need clear responsibilities. National government cannot hold them answerable for failures beyond their control. Reporting and redress must follow responsibilities and resources, rather than stop at institutional boundaries.The National Care Service debate has moved beyond an aspiration to remove charges. The Budget offers an early test of whether government will begin to bridge today's statutory duties and tomorrow's proposed guarantee.For someone seeking help, the measure is straightforward: can they understand the promise, receive the support and know who will put things right when it falls short?As a former minister for care services, Paul Burstow was responsible for developing the Care Act 2014. He served as a Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam between 1997 and 2015

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ADULT SOCIAL CARE

A national care promise needs a local delivery guarantee

By Paul Burstow | 27 October 2026

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