IIN Opposition, Labour railed at thousands of old people having to sell their homes in order to be looked after in residential care. But, now in government, it balks at the bill the state would have instead.

For though the Royal Commission it appointed to examine the long-term care of the elderly has recommended a half-and-half solution - of nursing care for the elderly being paid for by the taxpayer while those who can afford it must contribute towards their living and housing costs - it is still an expensive hot potato for the government .

For it would add at least another £1 billion to the £7 billion that long-term care already costs the state.

And though passing these proposals into the delaying process of wider consultation - possibly long enough to put off action until after the next general election - Health Secretary Frank Dobson is right when he says there is no obvious or easy solution to the problem.

And despite his rejection of there being a "demographic time-bomb" that the economy could not cope with, he shrinks from signing what would inevitably be a blank welfare cheque for the support of a growing elderly population by a shrinking workforce.

There is a nettle to be grasped eventually by the government - and it may be that of bringing in compulsory insurance for old-age care, though making the premiums affordable for all is another vexing aspect of this already-difficult issue.

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