A royal commission or "Wanless-type" inquiry should investigate jointly funding health and social care, says social worker turned Labour MP David Hinchliffe.

Hinchliffe, who chairs the House of Commons health select committee, said the cost to the state of funding social care could be offset by cutting the red tape involved in deciding whether the NHS or social services pays. He warned that a legal challenge over long-term care would eventually force the government to address the issue.

"We have introduced a number of measures to improve working between health and social care, but we are scratching round the edges and not addressing the fundamental questions of the division of responsibilities and budgets," he said.

"You could not introduce charges in the NHS, and we would have problems convincing the Treasury of the merits of removing charges for social care. But if you look at the management time and money devoted to boundary disputes, integrating the two could be cost neutral."