Half of all govt spending will be on care by 2060

Within the next 50 years, as much as half of all government spending could be taken up by health and social care.

That is the conclusion of a report by the King's Fund think tank, which concludes rising populations, increasing wealth and advances in medical technologies will increase the pressure to spend more on this sector, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Currently, nine per cent of the UK's income is spent on health and social care and King's Fund expects this to be more than 20 per cent by 2061.

At current levels of taxation and taking into account economic growth, the think tank suggests this will mean that £1 of every £2 spent by the government will be on care.

John Appleby, chief economist at The King's Fund and author of the report, said: "It is time to think much more long-term about how much we should spend, the benefits of this spending and how it should be paid for."

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