social care

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has suggested the government may scale back controversial plans to restrict visas for overseas care workers, in comments reported by the Guardian. The proposed rules had drawn criticism from the social care sector, which relies heavily on migrant staff, and Mahmood's remarks hint at a possible climbdown amid pressure over workforce shortages.

Economist Andrew Dilnot, architect of proposed reforms, says building an NHS-style social care system in England could take decades, urging politicians to treat social care with the same seriousness as the health service. His comments renew debate over long-promised reform, with successive governments having delayed action despite cross-party acknowledgement that the current system is underfunded and unsustainable.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, says he will make social care reform a central pledge at the next election, according to Reuters. Burnham has long campaigned for overhaul of England's funding and provision of adult social care, an issue successive governments have promised but failed to resolve. The announcement puts pressure on national political parties ahead of the next UK general election.

Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, is arguing that universal access to health care should be treated as a matter of true national security. He frames investment in public health for all as essential to protecting the nation, not merely a social service.

Mike Leigh's new film 'Tender Loving Care' is being screened at the New York Film Festival 2026, where it is being described as possibly the veteran British director's final work. Reviews from the festival are drawing attention to what may mark the closing chapter of Leigh's decades-long career in British social realism.