The Government's rejection of free personal care for elderly people in nursing and residential homes, as recommended by the Royal Commission on Long Term Care, adds to Labour's abysmal record on the treatment of pensioners.

Despite a few relatively paltry concessions, it is now clear older people, who have spent their working lives paying into the welfare state, are being abandoned. The most vulnerable - people with long-term conditions who need help every day - are now being told they will have to spend all their assets to fund their long-term care.

-Mrs Doreen Radford, Eastern Road, Brighton