We are entering a new age of responsibility – collective and personal – where all for one and one for all are the key catchwords.

Gone are the days of large bonuses and every person for themselves, where tax evasion and bumper expenses seem to be accepted as part of the norm.

Politicians have a collective responsibility to lead radical change and create a better society from the ashes of the post-Thatcher era.

We need new collective solutions to some of the big issues of our times from climate change to our ageing population; we can’t get better care, for example, acting on our own as individuals but we could if we worked together for a common solution.

That means working together across government, across local government, across care providers, charities and older people’s organisations, involving the wider public who are increasingly concerned about these issues.

The care system is in crisis – it is unfair, inconsistent, confusing and of course underfunded; we need a complete overhaul to make it work for older people and carers.

An increasing number of older people and their families are faced with the prospect of huge care home bills which have to be paid by selling their home. This has been made even harder by the current economic crisis.

It would be much fairer if better care was funded through a care duty on people’s estates, with a small percentage, say 2.5 per cent, paying for care. Rather than losing the family home, people would pay a bit more through inheritance tax.

The care duty could top up current public spending or be ring-fenced and used as part of a new social insurance scheme to pay for care. This proposal makes sense because we already have a system for collection, and it would keep track with demographic changes and increased personal wealth.

Alongside this reform we need to see much better use of public funding for care and support, with health and housing working closer together with care. We need more support for family carers so they can fulfil their personal responsibilities and much earlier intervention to support people at the right time. And we need better information and advice for all older people and carers so they can get the support they need and make the best use of their own resources.

The current economic downturn can’t be used as an excuse to delay action any longer. We can’t ignore the care crisis. It is one of the biggest challenges facing us all for decades to come and requires urgent, radical reform.

Families want the right care and the right deal. The forthcoming green paper on care funding is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new system that meets the care needs of this generation and future generations of older people.