Gordon Brown today pledged to overhaul the system of care for the elderly and the disabled in England and Wales, as increasing life-expectancy leaves the taxpayer facing a multi-billion-pound bill.

The Prime Minister warned that over 1.7 million more people than at present would need care within 20 years, creating a £6 billion funding gap.

He launched a six-month public consultation on how care will be funded, amid criticism that the current system of means-testing is unduly harsh on people who have savings and a home.

Mr Brown's speech to social care professionals, made at the King's Fund headquarters in London this morning, aimed to turn the public's focus back on policy after a traumatic few weeks for the Government.

The Prime Minister said it was “essential” that those people who worked hard and saved for their retirement were treated fairly in the provision of social care, and pledged that the consultation would find a solution to the problem.

“Of course, helping relatives is a challenge that most families rise to, however difficult it becomes,” he said.

“But that doesn’t make it any easier. Nor does it remove family worries about providing physical care that is needed - or take away people’s concerns that at some point in the future they may have to sell a treasured home to pay for their own care.”

According to figures released by the Government, in the next 20 years the number of people over 85 in England will double and the number over 100 will quadruple. Advances in medical knowledge and practice mean that disabled people can also live longer and healthier lives.

“We expect over 1.7 million more people to have a need for care and support in 20 years’ time,” the report said.

“A radical re-think of the care and support system is needed to address these challenges.”

Mr Brown said he “fully” understood people’s anxieties over the issue of social care. “We can - and must - look to give people the opportunity and the support to save for their old age in a way which insures them and protects their houses and their inheritance,” he said.

He said he wanted the system make it easier for people to stay in their own homes, adding that social care reform went to the “heart” of the Government’s ambition to create a fairer Britain.

At present, state support for social care is means-tested, and includes services such as help in cooking, shopping and caring for a family.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, has said that the cost of maintaining the current level of personal care services was set to double to more than £24 billion in 2026 as a result of rapid growth in the number of frail older people.

As he made his speech, the Prime Minister attempted to turn the focus back towards government policy after a traumatic 10 days which has seen Labour suffer disastrous local election results and lose the London mayoralty.

The Prime Minister has also been forced to face further discussion about his tempestuous relationship with his predecessor, Tony Blair, after the release in The Times of an autobiography by Mr Blair's wife, Cherie and a further publication in the Sunday Times of a book by John Prescott, the former Deputy Prime Minister.

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