Channel 4 broadcast Help, a powerful two-hour drama depicting a Liverpool care home ravaged by the virus (BBC News, 2021).

carers report much lower levels of satisfaction. Only 37 per cent were extremely or very satisfied, and 7 per cent were very or extremely dissatisfied – an ominous sign given how much the system depends on them.

estimated value of unpaid care provided by family members and other friends and relatives. If anything, this increased during COVID-19 and is now estimated to be worth £193 billion a year in England (Carers UK, 2020).

By February 2022, the overall vacancy rate in the care sector had reached 9.5 per cent, but was much higher for care workers (11.8 per cent), registered managers (12.6 per cent) and registered nurses (17 per cent). The overall vacancy rate in London was noticeably higher, at 13 per cent (Skills for Care, 2022).

In Nordic countries, long-term care is part of a state-run welfare system in which services are universally available, funded largely through general taxation and highly regulated.

A better question might be how can people use the wealth that is tied up in their home to have a better life in their later years?

Arguably, we have spent too much time considering policy content – the ‘what’ of social care reform – and too little time on policy process – the ‘how’ question – and hardly any time at all on implementation – the ‘when’ question.

Care workers’ pay is around 70 per cent of average salary levels

Much blood, sweat and tears has been expended by policy-makers in producing around 13 White Papers, Green Papers and formal consultations. There have been at least five independent reviews of funding. Bookshelves groan with one report after another describing different aspects of the problem and analysing possible solutions.