Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, Streeting said the NHS could not be solved without social care and welcomed opposition calls to work on a cross-party agreement.

Streeting said: ‘We have built a broad consensus on the NHS. That's what I want to do on social care.'

The health and social care secretary said he was thinking about the ‘best mechanism to involve the other parties'.

Streeting said he saw himself as both the health and social care secretary.

The health and social care secretary's comments came as care minister Stephen Kinnock promised the Government's plans for reform social care would be published in the next 12 months.

In response Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson Helen Morgan said the Government was kicking the can on social care down the road yet again'.

Morgan added: ‘We need to begin cross-party talks immediately to get social care on a long-term sustainable footing. You cannot fix the crisis in the NHS without fixing social care.'

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, said: 'The announcement by the secretary of state that he intends to develop a 10-Year Plan for social care is greatly welcomed, but we need to know when this plan is coming. Labour had 14 years in opposition, and I would have hoped they would have had some idea about how they would address social care. They were very swift in announcing a plan and putting extra money into the NHS, and what we need to see now is a plan for social care rather than just talk of a plan. There have been too many promises of jam tomorrow for social care, and we are no longer impressed by words. What we need is a clear plan and a timeline for delivery.'