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Reform of Social Care

My hon. Friend's point relates to the degree of uncertainty and insecurity that the current system tends to engender. It is important that we deal with that, and that people understand the circumstances in which the state pays and will continue to pay. We should not give people who have no assets the sense that they will be required to pay when they have no means of doing so. The state will be there to support them. There will be a safety net, and the commission makes recommendations about how further to develop it in future. Beyond that, we must arrive at a place where people are able to understand better the nature of the care costs that they might meet, and where there are good, affordable, secure mechanisms through which they can prepare for those costs, so that they do not have the gross insecurity that exists at the moment.