Deputy leader Daisy Cooper has set out the Liberal Democrats “ambitious” commitments to adult social care.

Cooper was speaking during the launch of the Hft and Care England Sector Pulse Check report launch yesterday which starkly illustrated the social care crisis.

She said: “We have heard the messages loud and clear. The funding is too little, too late, too piecemeal and too tied up. We recognise that you do need to have long-term sustainable funding and that is something the Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering.”

The Lib Dems deputy leader set out her party’s “ambitious” general election pledges for social care, including free personal care.

“There is a deep, deep inequality in the system,” Cooper said. “We believe that no-one should have to sell their house to pay for care and we want to halt the injustice of providing health care but not personal care.”

The Lib Dem pledges also include a minimum wage for care workers that is £2 above the National Minimum Wage and a Royal College of Care Workers to offer the workforce a platform to advocate for different or better qualifications, a change to pay scales and career pathways, and a National Care Agency that would set out minimum standards for care.

“It’s time for excuses to be over,” Cooper said. “We as a party have set out our pledges on health and social care. Health and social care will be our number one priority in a general election. It will be our most ambitious area and will attract our biggest spending commitments.”