Labour and the Conservatives need to produce a comprehensive reform to the big problem of social care funding, not the piecemeal approach adopted by each side, says the King’s Fund health think-tank.

Labour last week announced free personal care for people in their own homes. The Conservatives responded at the weekend with an insurance scheme – government-organised but likely to be privately managed – which the party said would cover care home fees for life in return for a one-off £8,000 premium at retirement age.