Councils may have to start paying people to look after their neighbours

 Councils will have to pay members of the public to look after elderly neighbours as the struggle to cope with the costs of social care escalates, a think tank predicts today.

The Social Market Foundation predicted that by 2040 local authorities will have to resort to new and potentially controversial measures to look after older residents.

It suggested that local authorities could offer “good neighbours” vouchers for local services, such as free access to swimming pools and other leisure facilities.

It also forecast that British authorities will have to use robots to help frail people get out of bed and get dressed, freeing carers to carry out more complex tasks.

The report says: “To promote community support, councils could look to reward citizens. The Government has discussed introducing ‘older person care’ vouchers, whilst carers can already receive credit for their National Insurance record if they provide care rather than work.

“Councils could look to build on such ideas, introducing reward points to individuals that participate, giving free access to local leisure and entertainment services.”