A Charity which helps childhood victims of sexual abuse is to restart operating in Nottingham thanks to a £10,000 anonymous donation.

People may have to pay into a compulsory social insurance scheme to contribute towards the costs of care in old age under proposals floated by the government yesterday.

The health secretary, Alan Johnson, said he would produce a green paper early next year on dealing with the long-term problem of providing adequate non-medical care for a growing number of vulnerable older people.

Over the next 20 years the number of people over 85 in England will double and the number over 100 will quadruple. Nearly 2 million more people will need social care support including help with dressing, washing, shopping and eating.

Johnson said he wanted a national debate on how much the government, individuals and families should pay towards meeting the social care bill, which is expected to rise from £12.7bn last year to £24.1bn in 2026 and £40.9bn in 2041.

He said people wanted to be confident that they would get adequate support without having to sell the house for which they had “scrimped and saved” throughout a working life. But the system of free personal care that was introduced in Scotland had been found to be unaffordable.

THE death of a mental health care home manager found dead in bed with one of his patients is still shrouded in mystery – two years later.

City College Plymouth is hosting an event to encourage men to enter caring professions traditionally dominated by women.

Two more council residential homes for the elderly were today earmarked for the axe to complete a hit-list of six closures.

A looming £6bn black hole in the funding of social care for older people in England was acknowledged last night by Alan Johnson, the health secretary.

He said the cost of maintaining the current, often inadequate level of personal care services was set to double to more than £24bn in 2026 as a result of rapid growth in the number of frail older people. Without new sources of funding, the government expects “a £6bn funding gap for social care” to emerge within 20 years.

Johnson will today launch a six-month public consultation on how individuals, families and taxpayers might be expected to share the costs of providing a satisfactory service.

The problem is understood to be regarded in Whitehall as possibly the most serious challenge to public services over the next 20 years, during which the number of people over 85 is likely to double and the cost of disability benefits is expected to increase by 50%.

Ministers are warning that England’s social care system is heading towards a £6bn funding gap unless there is radical reform, the BBC has learned.

Health experts predict the ageing population means state funding for the care of the elderly and disabled will face a huge shortfall within 20 years.

The warnings come as ministers are about to begin a major consultation on how social care is funded. Currently, most people in England have to pay for home help themselves.

State support is means-tested and most people have to pay for any home help, including washing, dressing, cooking, themselves.

Health ministers say they are aware of a widespread feeling that this system is unfair. Also, rapidly growing demand means social care is already being heavily rationed and ministers predict that is set to worsen.

Yorkshire foster carers have opened their hearts about the joys of the job as part of a campaign to bring more Leeds folk on board.

A nurse accused of ‘malicious abuse and violence’ towards Plymouth care home residents was yesterday told he will remain banned from the profession pending a full hearing.

An innovative new scheme has been tested in Yorkshire to highlight the experiences that people with learning disabilities encounter in hospitals.