Mayor Slams 'Sticking Plaster' Social Care Proposals Emerging from Government

Mayor Dave Hodgson has criticised reported government plans to require councils to increase council tax further in order to help pay for the rising cost of care. Ahead of Thursday's Local Government Finance Settlement announcement, it is widely reported that the government will announce plans for councils to raise council tax by an additional 6% over two years, on top of any other increase for services as a whole.

Commenting, Mayor Dave Hodgson said: "Having kept its head in the sand as the national care crisis deepened, it seems the government's only idea is to instruct councils to put up council tax. Any extra funds are desperately needed for the care of the elderly and vulnerable, but it will come at a high price for local taxpayers. It is also a sticking plaster which will fail to plug the massive funding gap the government has allowed to build up."

Charities, patients groups, local authorities and care providers are united in calling for a comprehensive, sustainable approach to tackling the funding crisis. However, reports that the government will respond to calls to tackle the issue by requiring Council to raise more money through council tax has been met with criticism.

A previous 2% increase for social care raised £383 million for Councils. To put that in context, the impact on the sector of the increased national minimum wage alone is £600 million. Meanwhile increases in council tax raise vastly more money for wealthy areas, making it an uneven, inefficient and unfair means of getting vital extra cash to the front line.