Leader of the Government’s social care review of social care, Baroness Casey, has shelved plans for cross-party talks, it has been reported.

The Telegraph said Baroness Casey would instead seek one-to-one meetings with representatives of opposition parties.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Baroness Casey’s independent commission into adult social care, which started in April, will start a national conversation, build cross-party consensus and provide recommendations for a social care system that is fair and affordable for all.

‘As the commission is independent, Baroness Casey and her team are taking forward arranging discussions with political parties.’

The commission’s timetable has been heavily criticised with its first findings not expected until 2026.

The Government has admitted it will take 10 years for the commission’s reforms to be implemented.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told HM: ‘I see no purpose in having all-party talks because in the past, the search to find a consensus on social care has been used as an excuse for inactivity by successive governments. This government has nowhere to hide because it has a huge parliamentary majority, and what it needs to do is come forward with a concrete proposal and deliver it.’

Liberal Democrat health & social care spokesperson Helen Morgan said the Government was ‘abdicating responsibility for building a consensus on fixing our broken social care system’ by reneging on cross-party talks.

'Ministers are hiding behind a commission when they know that without support across Parliament any reforms will be doomed to fail,’ Morgan added. ‘Our care system is in crisis, we cannot wait another decade while people are left suffering without the care they need.

‘The Government needs to urgently convene cross-party talks and agree a plan on social care by the end of the year, as the Liberal Democrats have long called for.’

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.