SOMERSET Council has welcomed plans to reform social care but urged the Government to act faster.

It was announced on January 3 that the Government has commissioned an independent review which promises to identify critical issues facing adult social care, set to be published in 2028.

The first phase of the review will be published in mid-2026 and is said to identify critical issues facing adult social care and will make recommendations for medium term reforms before the final report is published.

The announcement comes more than four years after Somerset played a crucial role in shining a light on the pressures facing social care by opening its doors to the BBC’s Panorama team.

The resulting two, hour-long ‘Crisis in Care’ films helped put the need for social care reform on the national agenda and highlighted the need for a national plan for a sustainable social care system.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, lead member for adults services, housing and homelessness, said: "We are pleased to see that the Government acknowledges that radical reform is required properly to support adult social care services in the United Kingdom.

"Somerset has one of the fastest aging populations in the country. By the time the final report comes out in 2028, predictions say that nearly one-third of our county’s residents will be aged 65 and older. Our adult residents with learning and physical disabilities will increase as individuals currently supported by Children’s Social Care turn 18."

For more background on Panorama’s Crisis in Care programmes visit: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/MYx8zCtDRI/the_crisis_in_care.