Scotland's free home care which was introduced in 2002, has been told to scale back its budget after a report said it could rise to over four times its original budget, to half a billion pounds a year by 2012. The system is different in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, but in England, 1.2 million people over 65 are currently receiving some type of government support.

Elderly care is now likely to become a major election issue, with the debate to open up more social care jobs, and fund them through various means. The political row only increases the uncertainty faced by those trying to work out how to fund the costs of their care.

At the moment, anyone with more than £23,000 of assets in England, has to pay for their own care at home. Anyone with less should get care paid for by their local authority, but this depends on their postcode.

Care is assessed according to four different bands. Seventy-three per cent of local authorities will provide care for the two most severe levels of need, 'critical' and 'substantial', while the remainder fund moderate needs too, none are known to fund low level needs.

When a person needs residential care, their home can be considered as an asset – so many families face having to rent or sell a relatives' home to fund the costs of their care. The Labour party want to change this, by introducing the Free Personal Care at Home Bill, which could start in October this year. The Prime Minister told delegates: "The people who face the greatest burden are too often those on middle incomes who have savings that will last a year or two, but then they'll see their savings slip away. For those with the highest needs we will now offer in their own homes free personal care."