The Conservatives have set out their plans to provide long-term care for elderly people.

Speaking at a summit in Westminster, party leader Michael Howard argued that older people should not have to sell property or use their savings to pay for residential care.

"One issue that older people and their families worry more and more about is the cost of long-term care," he said.

"For many people, the last few years of their lives can be spent in residential care. 

"Without proper planning, that can end up meaning  that someone's entire life savings and property are used to pay for that care.  Forty thousand people suffer this indignity every year."

Under the draft proposals, those who take out an insurance plan covering the cost of three years' long-term care would be guaranteed free long-term care beyond that period, regardless of the assets they hold.

This would be met through an agreement between a future Conservative government, the insurance industry and families.

"The current system is unfair," added Howard.

"It encourages people to run down their assets. It penalises people who have saved."