Two years after Boris Johnson promised a plan for social care, it can hardly be said that today’s announcement was “worth the wait”. As one Tory backbencher put it, “If the ‘big reveal’ of a decade of thinking is this, then some people want to sack.”

Unlike the NHS, social care – be it long-term support for elderly people in residential homes or assistance to disabled people in their own homes – is not free at the point of use in England. Instead, it has been means-tested and provided by a patchwork of individuals, charities, and private companies all overseen by local authorities.

The last decade has seen state funding recede by £8bn under austerity at the same time as demand has risen, with older people living longer and more working-age adults living with disabilities.

The result has been squeezed budgets, underappreciated staff, and a decrease in the standard of care. Some disabled or older people and their families have had to foot bills that can run into the hundreds of thousands, while others have been left to endure inhumane conditions because they have no care at all.