A leading commentator has called for social care in the United Kingdom to be funded collectively, arguing that it should be treated as a right, free at the point of need, and funded through general taxation in a manner similar to the National Health Service. The commentary responds to concerns over the ongoing crisis in social care provision and the challenges of determining who should bear the financial responsibility for addressing it.

The writer emphasized that social care represents an uninsurable risk, one that cannot be fairly or efficiently managed on an individual basis. They criticized approaches that conflate funding mechanisms with service provision, noting that this entanglement results in confusion over the level and quality of care provided, and delays progress on how to assess care needs objectively. Instead, the solution lies in adopting a collective funding model akin to that of health care and social security, with costs managed through annual public expenditure reviews.

The piece also highlighted a significant increase in public spending on residential care over recent decades, pointing out that the cost to the state rose more than twentyfold within seven years—a development described as scandalous. This surge was linked to the extensive transfer of public funds into private care providers, a process the author suggested warrants a thorough audit. They questioned whether the Conservative government beginning in 1979 may have been the most ideologically driven in UK history, given the scale of asset privatization.

The writer proposed that auditing the social care sector could serve as a starting point for reevaluating such transfers of public assets, alongside other areas such as council housing and water boards previously considered. The article underscores the urgency of reconfiguring funding structures to ensure equitable and sustainable social care provision for the future.