Age UK comment in response to Baroness Casey’s speech at the Nuffield Trust Summit

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: "This is arguably the first time that someone as senior, respected and independent as Baroness Casey has been prepared to tell the truth about the state of social care in our country, and the extent to which it does - or all too often doesn't - work constructively with the NHS to meet people's needs. She was also brutally honest about our national failure to face up to what it means to have an ageing population, something with which Age UK strongly agrees.

"It shouldn't have needed Baroness Casey to have said these things today to jerk our policymakers out of their protracted slumber, but now that she has it sets the tone for the rest of her Commission's work. By saying what she did she is also laying down a challenge to Government and to all politicians who aspire to take power to get much more serious in their responses on social care.

"It's clear that Baroness Casey and her team have listened carefully to what she has heard from both the users and givers of care, and that she 'means business' with the Commission she has been asked to lead. At Age UK we look forward to hearing more about the Commission's next steps and we will do everything we can to help."