Elderly care is set to become a key battleground in the upcoming election after a report commissioned by the Care Quality Commission showed that by 2030, more than 1.7 million people may need to supported by those in domiciliary care jobs.

During last week's Prime Minister's Question Time and the weekend's Politics Show, there were clashes between all parties about a proposed 10 per cent 'death tax'. Labour denied this figure, penned by the Conservatives, but refused to verify whether they would introduce an inheritance levy.

The Telegraph reports that Conservative Leader, David Cameron, asked Mr Brown how he proposed to fund the national care service scheme and accused the Prime Minister of using the issue of domiciliary care as a bone of contention between the parties pre-election.

The current Labour government is at present, contemplating plans to further social care in the home for elderly people at a cost of approximately £670m a per annum. A consultation is currently taking place to explore the option of turning this into a national residential care scheme.

Meanwhile, council heads have argued that they will not have the budget to pay for such additional schemes should they be put in place. Head of the Local Government Association, David Rogers stated of the plans: ''Councils would like to be in a position to help every resident, but the recent economic downturn means councils are faced with ever harder decisions together with increased demand and expectations''.

Chief executive of the Counsel and Care charity, Stephen Burke agreed, commenting that an ''honest and serious'' discussion about funding was required: ''Politicians owe it to older people, their families and carers to prioritise care reform and funding''.