The Government today unveiled plans for a new National Care Service, offering high quality care and support for everyone, wherever they live and whatever condition they may have.

The Government says it is designed on the same principle as the NHS. People will be protected from catastrophic care costs.

It is estimated that over the next twenty years 1.7 million more people will have a care need than is the case today. The current system will not be able to cope. That is why change is needed.

Speaking from Westminster, Pendle MP, Gordon Prentice, said: "I want a serious debate on this crucially important issue. It is forecast that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will need care in a residential care home at some point in their lives."

"The Government believes the current system will not be able to cope with these extra demands and that by 2026, around 400,000 over 65s with high needs will not be getting the levels of care that they require."

The National Care Service will overhaul the way care and support is paid for and provided. It will be phased in three stages.

Note to Editors: See the letter from the Health Secretary below.

30 March 2010

Dear Colleague,

Today, the Government has published a bold and ambitious White Paper that sets out our vision to build a National Care Service. It proposes a service that will provide high quality care and support services free when people need them, for all adults in England.

People are healthier and living for longer. This is great news for us all, but the implication is that more people will need care and support. Left unchanged, this would push our current system of social care to breaking point. Through bold action now, we can give everyone the support they need to live the life they want.

Over the next 20 years, an additional 1.7 million people in England will have a care and support need. The present system means that many of those will face unaffordably high costs for their care. By reforming the care and support system now, we can make life better for millions of people and help everyone to contribute fully to society.

As a Government, we are determined to tackle this issue. We have all seen too many people and their families lose everything they have to pay for care. This is unacceptable and it cannot continue. We need a fair and affordable way of giving high quality care to everyone who needs it.

Last year, we published the Green Paper Shaping the Future of Care Together and held the Big Care Debate. With more than 68,000 people taking part, it was the largest consultation ever on care and support. People told us that the time for reform has come. They told us they wanted a system that will support them and their families to live the lives they want, that will treat everyone with dignity and respect and that will give them choice and control over their care.

The first stage of reform is underway. We are building on the best of the current system and through the Personal Care at Home Bill we will be helping the most vulnerable first, by providing free personal care in their own home for those with the highest needs.

The next stage is about putting in place the building blocks of a national system of care and support, in particular the establishment of clear, national standards and entitlements. We will introduce a National Care Service Bill early in the next Parliament as a major step forward. This will begin to address the existing postcode lottery of care. From 2014, care entitlements will be extended so that anyone staying in residential care for more than two years will receive free care after the second year. We will also move rapidly towards setting out the detail on how we will take forward full reform of the system in a third and final stage in which the comprehensive National Care Service becomes a reality.

For this reform to be affordable it requires a system in which everyone who is able to contribute does so. At the start of the next Parliament, we will therefore establish a Commission to help to reach consensus on the right way of funding the new system. The Commission will determine the fairest and most sustainable way for people to contribute.

The final stage of reform will then be the introduction of a comprehensive National Care Service for all adults, free for people when they need it.

I believe now is the time to take action to ensure we provide a fair and affordable future for the whole of our society on an issue which affects every family in every part of our country.