The Casey Commission: full coverage of adult social care reform
The Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, was launched in January 2025 to recommend how England’s adult social care system should be reformed. Its work runs in two phases: medium-term proposals reported through 2026, followed by a longer-term blueprint for the system due in 2028.
This page brings together our coverage of the Commission and the wider push for social care reform, in the order it happened, so you can follow the whole story in one place rather than searching the news archive. We’ll keep it updated as the story develops.
New to this story? Start with A Moment of Reckoning, Baroness Casey’s starkest assessment yet of why social care needs fundamental reform, then Casey Commission launched for the background on how the Commission came about.
The story so far
- 14 January 2025 – Social care on the brink
The Sector Pulse Check report lands days after the Commission is announced, warning that the sector cannot wait until 2028. - 2 May 2025 – Casey Commission launched
The Commission is officially launched, with its terms of reference and two-phase timetable set out. - 13 October 2025 – Social care: six key problems
The King’s Fund distils the sector’s challenges into six core problems, with a response from SCIE. - 23 October 2025 – The State of Care
The CQC’s annual report warns of the risk to community care quality without greater investment. - 26 November 2025 – ADASS Autumn SurveyDirectors of adult social services report sharp rises in high-cost care and mounting budget overspends.
- 30 January 2026 – Towards a National Care Service
SCIE sets out how national standards of care could help end the social care “postcode lottery”. - 7 March 2026 – A Moment of Reckoning
Baroness Casey delivers her starkest assessment yet, warning that social care is approaching a “moment of reckoning”. - 20 March 2026 – Covid Inquiry final report
The Covid-19 Inquiry’s findings on NHS resilience reinforce the case for closer health and social care integration. - 9 July 2026 – Care Where We Live
The Local Government Association submits its own report to the Commission, arguing councils should lead a shift to prevention. - 17 July 2026 – ADASS Spring Survey
ADASS warns social care is reaching a “tipping point”, with waiting lists and overspends both rising. - 1 August 2026 – Steering social care into safer waters
CASCAIDr’s Belinda Schwehr sets out 10 practical suggestions as the Big Conversation on Care launches. - 21 August 2026 – Social care lottery
CSA warns of big gaps in social care provision in England
Background reading
For the longer history of stalled reform attempts before the Casey Commission – including the Dilnot Commission and the Green and White Papers of 2018–2020 – see our background piece, Adult social care reform.
Page last updated 24 August 2026.