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Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith told local government leaders that he could not promise extra resources for social services under a Conservative administration.

Responding to questions from delegates, Duncan Smith said he could not guarantee extra money, but pledged to free up existing resources by tackling what he referred to as the overlap between health and social services.

Duncan Smith said that the occurrence of "bed-blocking" at a time when care homes were being forced to close was proof of the absence of joined-up thinking on health and social care policy.

He said that both sectors would benefit from redirecting the money spent on hospital beds for people medically fit for discharge to extra places in care homes.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy told delegates the only way to overcome recruitment difficulties in the public sector might be to offer workers better pay deals and more flexible working practices.

Kennedy also called for councils to be given greater powers to raise more money locally to tackle public sector recruitment problems and fund health initiatives.