Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declined to dismiss a 10 per cent levy on all estates as a potential funding mechanism for comprehensive social care reform. The proposed National Care Service would cost approximately £18.7 billion annually, and Burnham previously advocated for replacing the current 40 per cent inheritance tax with this broader-based death tax during his tenure as health secretary.

Burnham has presented social care reform as an urgent priority, cautioning that the NHS faces systemic collapse without structural changes and committing substantial political effort to the issue. He is actively seeking cross-party dialogue on this enduring challenge, acknowledging that all political parties have historically failed to adequately address social care and proposing a collaborative reform strategy.