A major consultation exercise designed to engage with the population of England on the future shape of social care, including nursing in the sector, has been launched today. The government said previous attempts to reform social care had too often failed because they have tried to resolve fundamental questions without first building public understanding and consent. Andy Burnham said he had invited the main opposition parties to meet for urgent discussions on social care reform, in the latest signal that the sector is rapidly moving up the policy agenda. “Social care affects every family in this country: whether we need care ourselves, care for someone we love, work in care, or pay for it through our taxes,” Baroness Casey said. “This includes working age adults who rely on social care to live more independently, as well as older people.