The Casey Commission is scheduled to produce its first recommendations in 2026 with a second report following in 2028 but Baroness Casey said she was open to expediting the process if required.

Andy Burnham, who is currently the only declared candidate to replace Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, has said he would overhaul the social care system this year.

Baroness Casey told the Health and Social Care Committee this morning: ‘Ministers have always been incredibly supportive of the fact that if we can bring the overall piece of work in early, we should, and also they were very keen from the outset on what can we do as we go along the journey, so what changes can be made now, what changes could we make ahead of any General Election and to set out the stall for what could happen potentially in the future and to use cross party tools as a way of trying to manage those processes in parallel.'

The commission head revealed a public consultation will be launched next month to gauge their appetite for social care reform, including a different payment method, entitlement and assessment.

She said the results of the consultation would guide the next phase of what reform looks like.

She added the UK was ‘far from' a National Care Service, adding: ‘That's kind of the gift of Government to make change and get things done, so it is not beyond the wit of anybody, including previous Governments, to have set out what a National Care Service would look like. My view is that you can't do that unless you work out what the National Health Service is providing and where care fits within that or alongside it.'