Who should pay for the care of older people?

'Death tax' is front-page news. The Health Committee Report on Social Care is out today. A White Paper on the future and funding of care is imminent. Politicians across all parties are divided about who should pay for the costs of care and how.

In the midst of these debates, our own position, based on evidence, is unchanged. Any funding system must be fair, transparent and sustainable – both financially and socially. It must be based on principles of equity, including equity across generations.

There simply isn't enough money in the system to meet the costs of care for an ageing population. I am glad I live in a society where older people and disabled people are living longer, fuller lives. But the challenge remains: who pays and how?

Donald Hirsch and Philip Spiers have put forward a very interesting idea for a 'deal' between generations: a new Care Levy that would allow each generation to pay for a substantial portion of their own care over their lifetimes. If it ensured that each generation contributes to the costs of its own care, this option would be extremely fair to all. The idea has several advantages: as well as being fair across generations, it would also be affordable, collectable, sustainable, ring-fenced and provide immediate revenue flow.

This isn't an idea that we at JRF have modelled or tested out yet … but it is incredibly interesting, as it appears to meet the core criteria for a financially and socially sustainable system.

I'd be interested to know what politicians and policy makers across the political spectrum make of it and I'm equally interested in what older people and other service users and carers think. Last year, we funded a consultation of service users led by Shaping Our Lives to discuss the Green Paper's funding options, as we believe that national debates should be informed by the expert opinions of people who use social care services themselves. Most people consulted favoured general taxation as the fairest and simplest option. Shouldn't this be properly debated too, rather than dismissed out of hand?

There is never a good time to suggest a new levy or an increase in taxation. But time is running out. We urgently need to look at all the options and work out, together, how we can fund care fairly – for the common good.