Talks are a good place to start task of improving the UK’s social care

Working conditions at the coalface of care are a more humane starting point for policy than the drive to cap consumers’ costs. Photograph: Paula Solloway/Alamy

Kemi Badenoch’s second go at prime minister’s questions last Wednesday was judged a flop at Westminster but she did draw attention to one genuine issue: the impact of the national insurance rise for social care.

It is 14 years since the Tories sank Andy Burnham’s plan for a “death tax” to fund social care. Over that time, as demand has continued to rise, there have been patches and sticking plasters, including the social care precept, and the decision to fill gaping holes in the workforce with a surge in overseas workers.