Empowerment of councils is key to improving the 'entrenched' problems in health and social care integration, a think tank has claimed.

A report from Localis has today warned that short term budgets are encouraging 'disjointed care' by focussing on short-term pressures, while current forms of support remain 'conditioned' to keep older people in hospital longer than necessary.

The think tank has now urged the Government to introduce single, place based commissioning budgets for 40 to 55 year olds and care provision for those aged over 85.

Localis chief executive, Alex Thomson, said local government now had an 'unparalleled capacity' to support improved co-ordination between health and social care services.

He said the health and social care system currently rewards activity rather than outcomes and was undermining attempts to focus on managing long-term health conditions.

Among a series of reccomendations, the report called for a fixed five-year budget to support long-term strategic planning in care.

Pressure was also raised for acute trusts to be made statutory members of health and wellbeing boards to improve local leadership and co-ordination of care.

Lib Dem MP Paul Bustow said: 'If we are to break the log jam and ensure older people get the right care in the right place at the right time we need three things. We need a long-term funding commitment, we need a single pooled budget and we need a common purpose. Focusing on promoting people's wellbeing so they can get on with their daily lives should unite the NHS, social care and housing in a shared endeavour'

Labour's Alan Milburn similarly welcomed that 'the notion of integrating services around the needs of patients and citizens is fast becoming a new orthodoxy in public policy thinking'.