A minister has signalled the Government's willingness to force through plans to pay for the Prime Minister's social care reform amid widespread criticism, saying there will be "no consensus" over how best to do it.

       James Heappey, the armed forces minister, confirmed that the social care plan would be brought forward this week, having been "necessarily deferred" during the pandemic.

       "There are still three years of this Parliament to go and we still have a majority of 80, which enables the Government to deal with hard issues," he told Sky News. "There will be no consensus over any option that may be put forward by the Chancellor, but Parliament and the nation needs to deal with it. It has been ducked by too many governments."

       He added: "This reform is needed but it’s not going to be easy... but we must avoid it becoming a conflict between generations and find a route through that is fair and restores the social contract."

       Plans to raise National Insurance to pay for social care have been criticised by three former Conservative chancellors - Philip Hammond, Ken Clarke and Norman Lamont - as well as several cabinet ministers, backbench MPs, business leaders and the Labour party.

       Such is the level of concern around the plan, Boris Johnson is expected to address the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs in a bid to quell growing rebellion.

       Mr Heappey would not be drawn on the nature of tax rises, but said an alternative option, in the form of a capital gains tax rise, would have "a damaging impact on our wider economy".

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       The proposed rise in National Insurance will "hit younger workers and lower paid workers" hardest, Labour's shadow social care minister has said.

       Liz Kendall told Radio 4's Today programme the plan must have "fairness at its heart".

       Challenged over what Labour would do differently, she said the party would "set out our plans before the election when we know what the economic conditions are at the time".

       Any tax rises would fall on "those with the broadest shoulders".

       Labour's shadow social care minister has attacked the Government's proposals for dealing with the problem, arguing ministers have said "they have got a plan but in fact all they have got is a tax rise".

       Liz Kendall said the proposed cap on costs would "do nothing" for those working age adults who require aid, or improve quality, as well as dealing with the sector's workforce shortages, training or modernising.

       She also noted that the cap would only help between 30 and 50,000 people - but a million people use social care.

       "That is really only a very small part of the problem," she added.

       A minister has said he was "inaccurate" to suggest that at least one army veteran had taken their life in response to the allied withdrawal from Afghanistan.

       James Heappey, the armed forces minister, had initially told Sky News that he was aware of "soldiers who served in Afghanistan who have taken their own lives in the last week or so because of the feelings they’ve had over what’s happened".

       Questioned over what he had revealed, Mr Heappey confirmed: "It is my understanding in the last few days there have been people who have taken their life - certainly a person who has taken their life - who did so because of their feeling over the consequences of withdrawal.

       "That's why the Government, the nation, needs to put our arm round our veterans and tell them how proud we are of what they did."

       However, speaking later to the BBC, he said he had received "a number of reports that the thing I was referring to was inaccurate".

       Mr Heappey added: "We are looking very, very carefully at whether it is true whether or not someone has taken their life in the last few days."

       The row over how to pay for social care reform must not become a "conflict between generations", a minister has said.

       James Heappey, the armed forces minister, told Sky News: "Every single possible fiscal measure has pros and cons

       "We should see what cx proposes, recognise this is going to be difficult but avoid this lazy characterisation of young vs old," he added.

       He argued that "plenty" of retirees were not sitting on vast stores of wealth and "don't recognise that in their finances at all".

       "We must avoid it becoming a conflict between generations, and find a route through that is fair and restores the social contract," he added.

       Plans to raise National Insurance to pay for social care have been criticised by three former Conservative chancellors as Boris Johnson faces a growing backlash over the proposal.

       The PM is expected to outline his plan on Monday but is facing growing consternation from within his party over a move that would breach his 2019 election pledge not to raise the tax.

       On Sunday, Philip Hammond, Ken Clarke and Norman Lamont added their voices to the disquiet which already includes several cabinet ministers, backbench MPs, business leaders and the Labour party. They said it would unfairly hit young workers, leave wealthier pensioners unscathed and could lead to a voter backlash.

       Such is the level of concern around the plan, Mr Johnson is expected to address the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs in a bid to quell growing rebellion.

       MPs are returning to Westminster today, as their summer break draws to an end.

       So Boris Johnson might have hoped to be greeted with better headlines than today's, with widespread criticism of his as-yet-unannounced plan to deal with social care.

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