The King's Fund has set out two open fringe events at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, bringing ministers, MPs and charity leaders together on adult social care reform and the everyday barriers patients face in NHS administration.
Both sessions will be held outside the secure zone in the Liver Suite at the Royal Liver Building and are first-come, first-served. The think tank is billing them as practical conversations on how reform reaches people — from Casey Commission social care recommendations to missed appointment letters and lost referrals.
Social care: ‘From promises to progress’
On Monday 28 September 2026, from 2.15pm to 3.30pm (refreshments and networking from 2.00pm), The King's Fund joins Alzheimer's Society and Age UK for From promises to progress: making adult health and social care reform a reality.
The panel is chaired by Victoria Macdonald, Channel 4 News Health Editor, and includes Anna Dixon MP (Shipley), Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund, Michelle Dyson CB, Chief Executive of Alzheimer's Society, and Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Age UK.
The session sits against Baroness Casey's Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, after the Prime Minister brought the Commission's final report forward by a year. Organisers say the fringe will explore what practical steps are needed so people feel the impact of reforms — not only on paper.
NHS admin: ‘From missed appointment letters to lost referrals’
On Tuesday 29 September 2026, from 9.30am to 10.45am (refreshments from 9.00am), The King's Fund partners with Healthwatch England, National Voices and Ipsos for From missed appointment letters to lost referrals: making NHS admin work for patients.
Guardian Political Correspondent Kiran Stacey chairs, with Karin Smyth MP, Minister of State for Health, alongside Sarah Woolnough, William Pett of Healthwatch England, Sarah Sweeney of National Voices, and Anna Quigley of Ipsos UK.
The fringe will examine administrative barriers that delay care, the Single Patient Record, and what government can do in practice to make NHS paperwork and referrals work better for patients.
Both fringes take place at the Liver Suite, Royal Liver Building, Liverpool L3 1HU. Media queries: [email protected].
