Ministers must include plans for the immediate reform of adult social care funding in an imminent white paper, or risk the collapse of the entire system, senior council chiefs have warned.

In letters sent to the three main party leaders today, Local Government Association (LGA) chairman Sir Merrick Cockell states councils are unanimous in agreeing that cost-capping proposals, set out by economist Andrew Dilnot last year, 'offer the only real solution to securing sustainable funding for care'.