What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jeremy Corbyn will today unveil a £10billion a year package to provide free personal care for the elderly.

And he will cap at £30,000 the amount anyone has to spend on being looked after in later life.

That will reduce by 70,000 the number of people now facing costs of £100,000 or more.

New figures show that 9,200 people have had to appeal to local authorities for help since 2017 because they ran out of money.

And since last year they have been going to councils in desperation at the rate of 15 a day, a 38 per cent increase on 2017.

Labour ’s planned National Care Service will provide free helpers to perform daily tasks for older people such as getting in and out of bed, bathing, washing and preparing meals.

It will also set new ethical guidelines for social care and ensure care providers give proper training to their workers.

(Image: Sunday Mirror)

The next Labour government hopes to follow with free care for working age adults who need it.

Free care packages will save the elderly up to £7,321 a year reducing the number who have to dip into savings.

Mr Corbyn told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s much better if people can stay in their own homes where they feel a sense of belonging.

“This is about giving them a better quality of life which is the whole point behind it.

“And it will reduce the need for people having to give up work to look after an older relative.”

The plan will double the number of people receiving state-funded care and mean that dementia sufferers will no longer lose out because of the higher costs of being looked after.

It will also relieve pressure on the NHS by reducing the need to keep so many patients in hospital unnecessarily.

The scheme is in stark contrast to Boris Johnson who promised to unveil his own social care plans but failed to do so.

Shadow Social Care minister Barbara Keeley said: “His refusal to come forward with this plan is holding people who are struggling to cover the cost of care in contempt.”