Britain's next Prime Minister must urgently inject more money into the "ravaged" social care sector before the end of the year, MPs have warned.
Medical leaders have previously warned the sector is facing a "ticking time bomb" as chronic underfunding and staffing shortages means Brits will not get the support and care that they need.
The Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) said a 10-year-plan is urgently needed.
Rising inflation and increases in the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage are also adding pressure.
The committee, which held an inquiry into the long-term funding of adult social care, said the “message rang clear” that adult social care “does not have enough funding either in the here and now, or in the longer term”.
In his first speech as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson stood on the steps of Downing Street and said: “My job is to protect you or your parents or grandparents from the fear of having to sell your home to pay for the costs of care.
“And so I am announcing on the steps of Downing Street that we will fix the crisis in social care once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve."
The committee said the Government still has “nothing more than a vision” for social care currently, with no timetable or measures of progress.
Committee chairman Clive Betts said the Government “deserves credit” for attempting reform but that the Government has only “come close” to rescuing social care, with a long way to go.
He added: “Ultimately, whether it relates to immediate cost pressures or on wider structural issues in the sector, the fundamental problem is that there continues to be a large funding gap in adult social care which needs filling.
“Those who need care, their loved ones, and care workers deserve better.
“The NHS and adult social care provision should not be pitted against one another.
“The two systems are interdependent and each needs to be adequately funded to reduce pressure on the other.
“Wherever the money comes from – from allocating a higher proportion of levy proceeds to social care, or from central government grants – the Government urgently needs to allocate more funding to adult social care in the order of several billions each year.”
Age UK said the committee has recognised, in not so many words, that social care is “grotesquely under resourced in terms of people and money”.
Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: “At the moment millions of our fellow citizens are living diminished lives because the reliable, high quality care services they need just aren’t there for them."
Unison head of business and community, Donna Rowe-Merriman, said: “The urgent priority must be a proper pay rise across the entire care sector. Low wages and inadequate sick pay explain why thousands of staff are quitting for better paid jobs elsewhere.”
