Government figures suggest that within less than a decade one in five of the population will be aged 65 and over, up from 11.8m in 2016 to over 14m by 2026, putting immense pressure on the NHS and raising real concerns about how government and individuals are going to be able to fund long-term care costs.

Now the Treasury has confirmed that the long-awaited green paper on care costs is due to be published this autumn. Delayed since before the snap general election in June 2017, there is a lot riding on this paper. It must be hoped that the extra 18 months have been used wisely to come up with some sensible proposals about long-term care costs.