Council tax set to soar by hundreds of pounds from next April to fund social care black hole

COUNCIL tax will soar by hundreds of pounds from next April to fill the huge social care black hole, experts warn.

Rocketing debts and big cuts to budgets mean town hall chiefs will demand billions more from taxpayers in coming months, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said.

1

Experts think three times more cash — a total of £5billion a year — is needed to fund the PM’s social care promises.

Poorer parts of the country will see bigger hikes as their taxes don’t raise as much funding.

David Phillips, of the IFS, said: “The recently announced social care reforms pose major challenges for councils across England.

“The funding announced by Government so far is unlikely to be enough.”

The Sun reported last week that council tax bills could rocket by £500 a year to fill a black hole in the social care budget.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that the social care shortfall will be £8bn a year, rather than the £5bn predicted by the IFS.

The group said that even hiking bills by 25 per cent will not meet the shortfall in care provision over the next three years.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure to to use next year’s National Insurance raid to to pay for social care sooner than planned.

Currently most of the new Health and Social Care Levy will be used to pay to clear the massive pandemic backlog in the NHS.

The proceeds of the tax hike is not expected to be put towards social care until at least 2024.

Earlier this week Mr Sunak refused to rule out hiking council tax.

Asked if council tax could go up to further fund social care, he said it would be wrong to “pre-empt” a decision due later this year.

There are ways to reduce your council tax bill if you’re concerned about rising costs.

Reductions are available for those on low-incomes, people claiming certain benefits, those caring for others as well as other circumstances.

There are other specific circumstances that allow you to get a discount on your council tax bill, including disabled people, carers, students and people living alone.

You could also look into changing your council tax band.

Experts estimate that up to 400,000 properties are still in the wrong band – meaning loads of people are probably paying more than they need to.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk