COUNCIL tax bills will need to rocket by nearly £500 a year to fill an £8 billion blackhole in social care, Town Hall chiefs warn today.
The Local Government Association warns that even hiking bills by 25 per cent will not meet the shortfall in care provision over the next three years.
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But that would see the average Band D home see their annual bill soar by £475 to more than £2,370 by 2024.
The Tory-led group of local government bigwigs say just providing the same level of services now mean they need at least £8 billion more in the budgets due to rising costs pressures.
Without extra cash they warn “care for older and disabled people, child protection, homelessness prevention, waste and recycling, and road maintenance” will all suffer.
With widespread bankruptcies of local service providers predicted by 2024, pressure is mounting on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use next year’s National Insurance raid to to pay for social care sooner.
Currently the lion’s share of the new Health and Social Care Levy will be used to pay for the massive pandemic backlog in the NHS.
The majority of the 12 billion the tax hike will raise is not due to be used for social care until at least 2024.
But the LGA say that is too little too late and makes a mockery of the PM’s commitment to “level up” the country.
They warn without a massive funding hike for town halls at next month’s Spending Review, councils will be left with no choice but to punish residents wallets.
Cllr James Jamieson, LGA Chairman, said: “Councils continue to face severe funding and demand pressures that will stretch the local services our communities rely on to the limit.
“If we are to come out of this pandemic with a society that is truly levelled up, the vital services that councils provide must be at the heart of it.
“Councils need certainty over their medium-term finances, adequate funding to tackle day-to-day pressures and long-term investment in people and transforming places across all parts of the country to turn levelling up from a political slogan to a reality that leads to real change for people’s lives.”
Last night Health Secretary Sajid Javid signed off an extra £388 million to fight Covid in care homes this winter.
The bumper sum of cash will be used to pay care staff who need to travel to get booster Covid jabs and flu vaccines during their work hours.
It will also fund PPE and regular testing of staff through the winter months.
Mr Javid said: “Protecting care home staff and residents has been a priority throughout the pandemic and as we move into winter I am committed to ensuring they have the resources they need.
“This additional funding demonstrates how we will continue to support those delivering and receiving care.
“Everyone deserves to be cared for with dignity and respect and our wider reforms will continue to work towards our aim of a world-leading social care system.”
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Martin Lewis explains how to save £1,000s on your council tax as bills ahead of 5% hikes
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
