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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ministers consider council tax rise to cover social care funding | Ministers consider council tax rise to cover social care funding |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The prime minister is understood to be considering plans to allow councils in England and Wales to increase council tax to fund the social care system. | The prime minister is understood to be considering plans to allow councils in England and Wales to increase council tax to fund the social care system. |
| It follows warnings that the system could "topple at any moment" leading to pressure on the NHS as patients cannot be released from hospital. | It follows warnings that the system could "topple at any moment" leading to pressure on the NHS as patients cannot be released from hospital. |
| Local councils have suffered more than a 40% reduction in government grants since 2010. | Local councils have suffered more than a 40% reduction in government grants since 2010. |
| The government has refused to comment on the reports. | The government has refused to comment on the reports. |
| Funding gap | |
| Former chancellor George Osborne previously introduced a 2% precept to pay for care for the elderly and disabled. | Former chancellor George Osborne previously introduced a 2% precept to pay for care for the elderly and disabled. |
| Some councils have warned that even if every local authority imposed the maximum extra levy, social care would still face a funding gap of at least £2.6bn by 2020. | Some councils have warned that even if every local authority imposed the maximum extra levy, social care would still face a funding gap of at least £2.6bn by 2020. |
| Social care covers the services run by councils, although often provided by external companies, for the elderly and people with disabilities. | |
| It includes care homes, nursing homes and support provided to people in their own homes, as well as day centres and meals-on-wheels services. | |
| Martin Green from Care England, which represents care providers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that funding problems in the industry were "reaching a crisis point". | |
| "Research that about 40% of care services will no longer be viable in the medium term, so this is a huge number of care services that will be lost, some companies will definitely go bankrupt." | |
| 'Savage cuts' | |
| He said the precept funding model had problems, adding: "In the majority of local authority areas they raised the precept, but there is no clear audit trail to say has all that money reached the front line." | |
| Labour's shadow social care minister Barbara Keeley said the crisis has been "caused by savage Tory cuts to the budgets of local councils". | |
| "The right solution would be for Theresa May to admit the Tories have got it wrong and deliver the needed funding for social care," she said. | |
| "Asking taxpayers and councils to pick up the bill for their failure is no substitute for a proper plan." | |
| Andrea Sutcliffe, the chief inspector for adult social care, told The Times: "We've got increased demand and potentially a restriction on capacity. | |
| "Unless we really get to grips with some of these problems... we will get to an absolute crisis." |