From Dilnot to the dementia tax and beyond
Why social care reform keeps going wrong
Wednesday 10 June 2026 16:30 to 18:00Speakers: |
Simon Bottery (Senior Fellow, The King’s Fund) |
Location: |
EP Abraham Lecture Theatre, Green Templeton College |
About the event
This presentation will look at the history of adult social care reform over the past 15 years through the prism of public attitudes to social care. It will show that public prioritisation of social care is typically low but punctuated by occasional peaks when government reform proposals bring the issue to greater attention. It will also show, however, that these occasions have tended to focus on the cost of reform and how money will be raised, and have ended badly for the governments concerned. As a result, politicians have concluded that social care reform is a vote loser rather than a vote winner. The presentation will propose ways in which the social care sector can break this logjam.
About the speaker
Simon Bottery leads The King’s Fund’s work on adult social care, which includes the annual Social Care 360 report on the key trends in the sector and research areas including access to social care, the care workforce, the provider market, integration with health, and social care funding. He is chair of the School of Social Care Research’s advisory board and a trustee of Age UK London.
Before joining The King’s Fund, Simon was Director of Policy at the older people’s charity Independent Age. He has wide experience in policy, communications and journalism, including as Director of Communications at Citizens Advice. He has also worked for the development charity ActionAid, in the commercial sector for Guinness, and in BBC local radio.
Register
More information
This hybrid event is run by Green Templeton’s long-running Care Initiative, led by Professor Mary Daly.
After the talk there will be a short drinks reception in the Stables Bar.
Type: Lectures and Seminars
