Our ageing population is increasing beyond all estimates – the latest figures are that there will be almost 94,000 pensioners in the district by the year 2026, a massive 36 per cent increase on the count in 2007.

As people live longer and healthier lives, the state must adapt to properly offer them the care and support they need. We should never look upon pensioners as a burden on society – they have for the most part worked hard for their entire lives and contributed in huge and varied ways towards making our society today function.

As the need for services increases and public funding shrinks, there are going to be demands upon the welfare state in general and the social care system in particular which will be difficult to meet.

But they must be met, and if local authorities such as Bradford Council are struggling to provide the care that older people need now, it is going to be so much of a bigger problem a decade down the line.

This is a problem that will not go away and must be tackled. The Telegraph & Argus has long championed dignity for older people through our With Respect campaign, and that is an objective we must keep uppermost in our minds when sitting down to solve this issue.

It will not be an easy nut to crack, but elderly care has to be a major part of any Government manifesto and must be seen for what it is: an obligation our society has to those who helped forge it that must be funded and managed with humanity, not just as a book-balancing exercise.