700,000 pensioners let down by failing social care system - Clegg

3.20.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Apr 2008

Nick Clegg has branded the Government's treatment of older people as 'a stain on the moral conscience of this country'. In a speech this morning in London about the crisis in social care for older people, Nick Clegg set out his party's plan for a Personal Care Payment based on need, not the ability to pay. As the only major political party to set out plans on how to reform social care, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a cross-party consensus on the difficult choices that have to be made to ensure that all those who need social care have access to it.

Nick Clegg said "Liberal Democrat proposals would give all older people in need of care a universal care guarantee, which would cover the great majority of care they need. Individuals could then 'top up' their care package by making private contributions which would be matched by the state - pound for pound - until the maximum benchmark is reached. People on low incomes would have their top-up contributions paid by the state through the benefits system, so that they would still have all their care needs covered."