Baroness Louise Casey has said the government "missed a trick" coming into the 21st century, with public services now having to "keep up" with a much older population.

The leader of a commission into adult social care in England tells Radio 4's Today programme that the NHS has been withdrawn from communities in recent years, with the number of district nurses and their teams having gone down and people struggling to get GP appointments.

She says: "If we were much better at running a much better service, whether it's care or health in the community in the first place, you would have less people tripping into hospital."

Casey says her vision for the country is a national health service that is "delivered locally by local people".

Andy Burnham has said "the NHS will collapse" if social care is not reformed but he could not put a timeline on changes.

In an letter to the prime minister at the weekend, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch urged him to rule out tax rises in order to fund any reforms to social care.

Burnham invited the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for cross-party talks on the best way forward to reform social care in England.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey - who has repeatedly said the "current system is broken" - said he would attend remotely. Badenoch cannot be there and is sending shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew instead.

Burnham did not invite the leaders of the Green Party or Reform UK.

Reform leader Nigel Farage complained of the snub, while Green leader Zack Polanski saw the invitation of opposition leaders as "positive".

Andy Burnham has said it is time to "draw a line under" people playing politics on the topic of social care.

The prime minister says in a video posted on X: "For decades, governments have kicked this issue down the road because they have seen it as too risky, too difficult and too complicated."

He says that "common ground" needs to be found to fix the issue, urging people to "work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve".

As we mentioned earlier, Andy Burnham is expected to announce he's speeding up the Casey Commission when he speaks later today.

Here's what that is:

Baroness Louise Casey is chairing an independent review of adult social care in England. Her work began last summer and she is expected to report the review's findings by 2028.

The review is split into two phases. The first, medium term, looks to set out a plan for how to implement a National Care Service. This should report in 2026.

Phase two considers how social care is funded in the longer term, and is expected to report back by 2028.

And here's what Casey has said so far:

In March, Baroness Casey told the BBC the UK is facing a "moment of reckoning" in social care and called on the government to take action immediately to address current failings.

This morning, speaking to the Today programme, she said: "The vision that we must have for a country when it comes to a national care service is that the public do not have to face this constant battle lines between who does what and how.

"The idea that a member of the public is having to navigate their way through a system that tells you all you need to know about public services."

We'll bring you more from Casey's Today interview shortly.

Top of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's agenda today is social care and his plans to reform it in England. But what is it?

Social care means services that provide practical help for someone with an illness or disability.

This can include help with washing and getting dressed, providing meals to your home, or long-term nursing support.

For those still living at home, the help can be carried out there, while those who need round-the-clock support are housed in care homes.

Image source, Getty Images

As things stand, the social care system is mostly provided by companies rather than directly by the state.

Unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use. In England and Northern Ireland, people with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with care costs from their council.

In Wales and Scotland, different rules apply in terms of eligibility.

While social care is not limited to elderly people, they make up a large proportion of people needing this additional support. The charity Age UK estimates that there are two million older people in England now living with some unmet need for social care.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Andy Burnham is set to deliver a speech on social care reform in England later this morning - and will take questions from reporters for the first time since becoming prime minister.

Ahead of the speech, the prime minister invited the leaders of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for talks on the issue, and he’s expected to say that finding cross-party common ground will be crucial.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said he would attend remotely but Tory leader Kemi Badenoch can't be there and is sending shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew instead.

Burnham is not expected to set out detailed plans today for a new social care system.

Last week he told the BBC the NHS would "collapse" if social care was not reformed, and today he is expected to announce he is speeding up the Casey Commission - an independent review that is drawing up recommendations to overhaul the care sector.

You’ll be able to watch the prime minister's speech live at the top of the page when it kicks off at 10:00 BST, and we’ll bring you the key lines, as well as his responses to journalists’ questions.