First step towards National Care Service – but not until 2028

Published

4 months ago

January 3, 2025

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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has denied the government is putting off social care reforms following criticism that a planned overhaul of the sector may not happen for years.

Ministers have launched an independent commission, led by Baroness Casey, to “transform social care” – but the latter phase of the two-part commission will not make its final recommendations for England until the end of 2028.

The first phase will report to Sir Keir Starmer in mid-2026, looking at the issues facing social care and recommending medium-term reforms, while the second phase is expected two years later and will make recommendations for the longer term.

The review, which will begin in April, is part of a wider package of support for the sector and includes more funding for elderly and disabled people to make home improvements, as well as training for care workers to perform health checks for patients in the home.

Friday’s announcement also marks the first step towards a National Care Service, which was pledged by Labour in its general election manifesto.

Asked by reporters on a trip to Carlisle whether ministers were “kicking [the reforms] into the long grass”, Mr Streeting said: “This government is determined to grip the crisis in social care which is historic and has been decades in the making.

“That’s why since the general election we have legislated for first-ever fair pay agreements, we’ve delivered the biggest expansion of the carer’s allowance since the 1970s, and we’re delivering big increases in social care funding – including specific funding for the disabled facilities grant.”

He added: “But there is more to do and if we’re going to break the cycle of failure after failure under different types of government – Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative, SNP – the best way to do that is an independent commission that brings political parties together so we’ve got a plan not just for the next few years… but a plan for the next three decades.”

However, Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said “waiting until 2028 is not an option”.

He said that while government’s review acknowledged “the decade-long crisis in social care”, there was a risk of it “becoming yet another repot that gathers dust while the sector crumbles”.

“This commission will simply confirm what we already know – how many more reports must we endure before action is taken?” he added.

“The harm caused by the government’s inaction is already deep, and the consequences for those who currently draw on care will be irreparable if immediate intervention is not forthcoming.

“Waiting until 2028 is not an option. The people in care today cannot afford to wait any longer – their lives depend on action now.”

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at The King’s Fund, also welcomed the announcement, but urged the government to “accelerate the timing”.

Labour had 14 years to think about social care – why do they need to buy three more years?

Liz Bates

Political correspondent

@wizbates

Successive governments have tried and failed to take on the generational challenge of overhauling social care.

Reforming the sector could be transformational, not just for patients and staff but also for councils struggling to pay the ever-increasing bill and the dangerously over-stretched NHS, which currently picks up the slack.

The advantages are obvious but the political pitfalls loom large over the issue, with previous attempts memorably ending in failure.

One of the most notable was Theresa May’s attempt to change the funding model, which was dubbed “the dementia tax” during the election that derailed and permanently damaged her premiership.

It is surely with this and other abandoned plans in mind that Labour has today sought to buy two things – time and political cover.

By announcing that the Independent Commission will report in 2028 they have given themselves years to come up with the solutions and the cash to make it happen.

And by bringing in Baroness Casey – a politically neutral reformer with a formidable reputation – to take on the issue they clearly hope to build cross-party consensus and avoid the divisive attacks that can kill a policy.

But it also invites the obvious criticism that Sir Keir Starmer and his team had 14 years in opposition to think about social care, so why do they need three more?

They now need to prove that this extra period of reflection is really worth it, and it’s not just the same old political tactic of kicking it into the long grass.

Last summer Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, also announced she would not proceed with adult social care charging reforms, which had also been delayed by the previous government, in a bid to fill a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

The plans would have introduced a cap of £86,000 cap on care costs from this October. Those whose care costs exceeded £86,000 would then have the rest paid for by local authorities.

It would have also seen the threshold for qualifying for some council support before surpassing the cap increase from £23,250 currently to £100,000.

Shadow health and social care secretary Edward Argar said Labour had made the job of social care providers “even harder”.

“After Rachel Reeves abandoned their election promise to deliver our cap on social care costs, Labour have piled pressure on social care providers with their employer NICs jobs tax on social care workers, making their job even harder,” he said.

“We will engage constructively to deliver much-needed long-term social care reform, but after 14 years in opposition it is deeply disappointing that Labour don’t have a plan for social care.”

Speaking to Sky News this morning, health minister Andrew Gwynne acknowledged the criticism about the length of time it would take to implement major reform, but denied there was “inaction right now”.

He said no political party had “clean hands on this”, highlighting how the Tories attacked Gordon Brown’s attempts to reform social care in 2010 as the “death tax”, while Theresa May was accused of trying to introduce a “dementia tax” with a proposed cap on social care costs.

Mr Gwynne pointed to the fact that additional funding has been committed to the Disabled Facilities Grant, which allows people to apply for funding to carry out work such as widening doors, improving access, installing ramps or stairlifts, or building an extension.

The £86m boost for this financial year is on top of the £86m announced in the budget for the next financial year and brings the annual total to £711m.

About 7,800 more elderly and disabled people could benefit, ministers estimate.

Politics

Bitcoin more of a ‘diversifier’ than safe-haven asset: Report

Published

3 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Bitcoin more of a ‘diversifier’ than safe-haven asset: Report

Bitcoin’s fluctuating correlation with US equities is raising questions about its role as a global safe-haven asset during periods of financial stress.

Bitcoin (BTC) exhibited a strong negative correlation with the US stock market when analyzing the short-term, seven-day trailing correlation, according to new research from blockchain data provider RedStone Oracles, shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.

However, RedStone said that the 30-day indicator signals a “variable correlation” between Bitcoin price and the S&P 500 index, with the correlation coefficient ranging from -0.2 to 0.4.

This fluctuating correlation suggests that Bitcoin “doesn’t consistently function as a true hedge for equities” due to its lack of a strong negative correlation below -0.3, which is needed for “reliable counter movement during market stress,” the report said.

The research suggests that while Bitcoin may not be a dependable hedge against stock market declines, it offers value as a portfolio diversifier.

This fluctuating dynamic signals that Bitcoin often moves independently from other assets, potentially offering additional returns while other assets are struggling. Still, Bitcoin has yet to mirror the safe-haven dynamics of gold and government bonds, RedStone suggests.

Bitcoin needs to “mature” before decoupling from stock market

While Bitcoin is poised to grow into a safe-haven asset in the future, the world’s first cryptocurrency still needs to “mature” as a global asset, according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and chief operating officer at RedStone.

“Bitcoin still needs to mature before decoupling from stock markets,” Kazmierczak told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Increased institutional adoption will absolutely help — we’re already seeing this effect with corporate treasury investments reducing Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility and with BlackRock repetitively praising BTC as an asset in a portfolio.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin will see growing recognition as a portfolio diversifier, with an annualized return of over 230% for the past five years, which “significantly outperformed” both stocks and traditional safe-haven assets, Kazmierczak said, adding that “even a small 1–5% Bitcoin allocation can meaningfully enhance a portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns.”

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s declining volatility supports BTC’s growing maturity as a global financial asset. Bitcoin’s weekly volatility hit a 563-day low on April 30, a development that may signal more stable price action.

Bitcoin’s price volatility fell below the realized volatility of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, signaling that investors are increasingly treating Bitcoin as a long-term investment vehicle, Cointelegraph reported on May 13.

Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express

Politics

Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe will not be charged over alleged ‘verbal threats’

Published

5 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe will not be charged over alleged 'verbal threats'

Former Reform MP Rupert Lowe will not be charged after facing allegations of making threats, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

Malcolm McHaffie, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said after considering a number of witness statements they have concluded that there is “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction”.

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He added: “The Crown Prosecution Service’s function is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent, and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.

“Based on the careful consideration of this evidence, we have decided that our legal test for a criminal prosecution has not been met.”

Mr Lowe was suspended by Reform UK and reported to police following allegations that the MP threatened violence towards party chairman Zia Yusuf.

He always denied wrongdoing and claimed he was the victim of a witch hunt after speaking out against party leader Nigel Farage in the media.

In a lengthy statement following the CPS’s decision, the Great Yarmouth MP said he was referred to the police in “a sinister attempt to weaponise the criminal justice system against me – putting not just my political future, but my liberty at risk”.

He said this was “all because I dared to raise constructive criticisms of Nigel Farage, stood firm on deporting illegal migrants, and pushed for Reform to be run democratically – not as a vehicle to stroke one man’s ego”.

Reform responded “with a brutal smear campaign”, he said, claiming figures in the party briefed journalists he had dementia.

Farage ‘a coward and a viper’

Mr Lowe said: “I am ashamed to have shared a parliamentary platform with them. Ashamed to have trusted them. Ashamed to have called them friends. Farage is no leader – he is a coward and a viper. I feel deeply embarrassed that I ever thought he was the man to lead.

“It’s my view that the police process was weaponised to silence a party colleague who raised reasonable concerns.

“If Farage were ever to control the vast power of the British state, I believe he would not hesitate to do to his adversaries what they have tried to do to me. With real power, I fear he would wield that immense responsibility to crush dissent – as he has done time and again over the years.

“Smearing my innocent staff in a pathetic attempt to attack me was disgusting, alongside briefings to journalists from senior Reform figures suggesting I had dementia – the lowest, vilest tactics I have seen in my 67 years. They are not fit to lead. They are not fit to be MPs.”

Mr Lowe went onto say that “for the good of our country, Nigel Farage must never be prime minister”.

In a hint at his political future he added: “When the time soon comes, we will work together to advance a political movement that is credible, professional, decent, democratic and honest. There will, very soon, be an alternative to the rotten leadership of Reform.

“You’ll be hearing a lot more from me, very soon.”

Sky News has contacted Reform UK for comment.

The row poses danger for a party that has its sights on entering government at the next election after a meteoric rise in the polls.

It broke out in March after Mr Lowe gave an interview to the Daily Mail in which he said it was “too early to know” if Mr Farage will become prime minister and warned Reform remains a “protest party led by the Messiah” under the Clacton MP.

Soon after, Reform UK announced it had referred him to police and suspended him, alleging he made “verbal threats” against chairman Zia Yousaf.

The party also claimed it had received complaints from two female employees about bullying in his constituency offices, which he also denied.

Mr Lowe was one of the five Reform MPs elected to parliament in July and now sits as an independent.

He previously sat as the chairman of Southampton Football Club before entering politics.

During Mr Farage’s online falling out with Elon Musk in January, in which the world’s richest man said Reform needed a new leader, Mr Lowe drew praise from Mr Musk.

Politics

Ex-SEC Chair Gary Gensler privately supported crypto — McHenry

Published

7 hours ago

May 14, 2025

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Ex-SEC Chair Gary Gensler privately supported crypto — McHenry

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler may not have been as hostile to crypto behind closed doors as he appeared to be in public, according to former US Representative Patrick McHenry.

In a May 13 appearance on the Crypto in America podcast, McHenry revealed that during private meetings with Gensler, the former regulator expressed a far more nuanced view of digital assets.

“Did he come across, or was he as anti-crypto in private as he did in public?” McHenry was asked. His response: “No… Nope.”

McHenry noted that Gensler “saw the value of digital assets” and acknowledged the potential of blockchain technology during his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Gerald Gallagher, general counsel at Sei Labs, also noted that Gensler played a role in developing the concept of the airdrop during his academic work, calling it a largely forgotten chapter in his background.

However, once Gensler became SEC chair, McHenry said, his stance shifted dramatically. “I had this weird, mistaken, stupid belief that he wouldn’t be that bad as SEC chair,” McHenry admitted. “And I mean, just the level of dismay.”

Gensler’s crypto stance was “confusing”

McHenry said discussions with Gensler on crypto regulation were often confusing.

McHenry said conversations with Gensler about legal frameworks and content structures often started off as reasonable, but quickly became contradictory. He described how Gensler would initially agree with certain points, only to later reject the same facts he had acknowledged moments earlier.

According to McHenry, Gensler’s public opposition may have been shaped more by “Senate politics and confirmation politics than anything else.”

After departing the SEC on Jan. 20, Gensler returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to teach fintech and AI.

Under Gensler’s tenure, which started in 2021, the SEC took an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto, bringing upward of 100 regulatory actions against industry companies.

The regulatory hostility caused Gensler and his team much scrutiny and backlash from industry leaders.

In December 2024, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the crypto exchange would sever ties with law firms employing former SEC officials involved in what he said was an effort to “unlawfully kill” the crypto industry.