Ed Balls is on a mission to solve the care home crisis, by moving in with residents to find what reforms are needed to make their lives better.
The former politician saw his mum Carolyn, who is in her 80s, recently move into a care home with dementia, entering a system that was in crisis even before the coronavirus pandemic.
Now, for a BBC two-part documentary, Ed plans to find out exactly what has gone wrong – and what could start to put it right. He will then present his findings to those in power, both in local government and in Whitehall.
He said: “The crisis in social care is deepening, and we need to work together to sort it now.
“Because my mum lives in a care home, I thought I knew what happened in them, but as I started to dig deeper, I realised I’ve only ever scratched the surface."
“Covid exposed and accelerated a long-term decline in this country’s provision for adult social care.
“For our parents now and our children’s futures, we must do something before it’s all too late.”
For the project the ex-shadow chancellor turned Strictly star will live and work alongside staff in a mid-sized care home in Scarborough, North Yorks.
While at St Cecilia’s, he hears heart-rending stories of the devastation wreaked by the pandemic and meets families who share their experiences of the sacrifices and struggles they have faced over the last year.
Ed, 54, also visits other UK homes who have come up with innovative ways of tackling the crisis.
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