WE know that the social care system needs fixing. An estimated two-million adults in England have unmet care needs, and in Truro and Falmouth more than 72 per cent of people cannot afford the £70,000 a year for social care that it can cost. It’s a huge price to pay just because the illness you are suffering from is Alzheimer’s or something else that the NHS judges does not fall within nursing care. The system as it stands is random and unfair.

The need for reform is personal for many families. Andy Burnham's father died just before Labour Party conference with Alzheimer's, an experience that has strengthened his determination to tackle the unfairness of social care and provide a personal care service that is free at the point of use.

In the National Health Service, founded by a Labour government in the 1948, the principle is that everyone contributes and everyone is covered. Andy Burnham’s proposition is that the same principle should apply to care for older people.

It will give people peace of mind about their care needs and protect what they have built up over their lifetime. It will provide free personal care – support with the most basic human needs: eating, dressing and bathing. And it will be integrated with the rest of the system, preventative in nature, and deliver care at home wherever possible, where older people want it and where it should be.

Baroness Louise Casey's review of adult social care, which the Prime Minister has brought forward by a year, will consult and advise on exactly how the National Care Service will work.

Fixing social care will also save money for the NHS, with fewer ambulance call outs, fewer A&E admissions and fewer hospital beds occupied by people who don’t want or need to be there.

The National Care Service will be funded through a change to the State Pension triple lock from April 2030. We pledged in our manifesto that we would keep the triple lock throughout this parliament, and will keep that promise. This means the state pension is set to rise by more than £2,000 a year, reaching around 30 per cent of average earnings by the end of the decade – its highest ever level.

After 2030, the State Pension would continue to rise each year by either inflation or 2.5 per cent, whichever is higher. Wages will still matter too, and the State Pension will continue to keep pace with earnings over time, but it will not increase as quickly as it otherwise would if we kept the triple lock in its current form, and we are upfront about that. However, the adjustment will help fund a new settlement that provides greater security for older people, ensuring nobody has to face unaffordable care costs in later life. At the same time, it would give young people the confidence that both the State Pension and a reliable care system will be there when they need them.