‘Severe pressure’ on English system

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the UK Government has not abandoned the promised reforms of social care in England as he acknowledged the NHS was under "severe pressure".

Mr Barclay insisted the pressures on the NHS were "predominantly" to do with the pandemic, but admitted the entire crisis could not be blamed on Covid-19.

It comes in the wake of an Autumn Statement that saw Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announce the health service will receive an extra £3.3 billion in each of the next two years while £4.7 billion will go into social care.

However, the Government has also faced criticism for the decision to push back long-promised social care reforms to October 2025.

The reforms include an £86,000 cap on personal care cost contributions and an expanded means test that is more generous than the existing one, which had been due to come into effect from October 2023.

Mr Barclay said it was a "difficult decision to delay" but told the BBC'S Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that current circumstances had forced the decision.

He said: "The Chancellor himself - when doing my job as health secretary - was very committed to these reforms. That's why it has been a difficult decision to delay but what we recognise is we need more care packages in social care."