The founder of an Angus-based care group is warning that the funding of long-term elderly care is a "socio-economic time bomb".
Tony Banks, owner of Balhousie Care Group, is calling for urgent action to address the soaring cost of providing long-term care for the country's ageing population.
The businessman has criticised the inaction of successive governments and says radical measures must be implemented now to ensure current and future generations of elderly people get the care they deserve.
Mr Banks said: "We're really needing a government to grasp this thistle and really take action on this - and it's going to be drastic action.
"We're going into a period of austerity and we're goiong to have to look at this problem of caring for our elderly as part of that period of austerity.
"That might mean putting taxation up. That's never going to be a vote winner for any government but to me that is the only way to really tackle the problem, by putting tax up by 1p in the pound and ringfencing it for the care of the elderly for the future."
