As the House of Lords launches a debate about social care, Phillipa Mellish says we need to celebrate and respect older people for the contribution they make to our society, not dismiss them as a troublesome burden.

The real debate on care funding is still to come. Thankfully, while the Government spends the summer recess agonising over the detail of its Dilnot change of heart, the House of Lords has seized the moment to kick-start an open debate with the public about what kind of society we want to live in, and the principles which underpin it.