Ivan Lewis may have caused a few ruptions in the national press with his interview with the Independent today on how a more courageous approach from Gordon Brown is necessary to give Labour a fighting chance in the next election - but, more importantly, he's also got some significant things to say about adult social care, in an interview with Community Care published (altogether coincidentally) today.
If you want to listen to the care services minister, we have podcast the interview as well, as part of our weekly Ivory Tower series, presented by our executive editor, Mark Ivory.
So what does the minister have to say?
The central message is that this is something of a golden age for adult social care - with the government investing over £500m over the next three years to personalise services; debating the long-term future of care and support ahead of a green paper next year; due to launch a national dementia strategy (the first ever) and having already published the first carers strategy in nine years. Then there's also the Valuing People Now strategy for people with learning disabilities.
With that opportunity, he argues, come responsibility to deliver on the part of local authorities and social care providers. He even suggests that should councils not deliver on the personalisation agenda they could have their adult care responsibilities transferred elsewhere.
But what does the prospect of an election in 2010 (or maybe 2009 if Labour is to have a new leader) mean for this agenda? Have a read of our blog for some (very initial!) thoughts on this.