British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has announced a package aimed at reforming social care in that country.  According to him without radical reform the care system will face a six billion Euro shortfall within 20 years.  Mr. Brown’s statement begins a six month public consultation focused on making care services fairer and affordable. 

He said growth in the number of elderly and disabled people is expected to put huge pressure on services and the benefits system.  There is therefore the need to have collaboration between health and social services.  

This he noted will prevent anxieties of families who will have to pay for long term care services.  

Mr. Brown’s speech to the King’s fund in London comes as forecasters say, in the next two decades a quarter of the UK’s adult population would be over 65 and the number of people over 85 will have doubled.