Councils are planning tax rises to cover the mushrooming cost of social care

The future of health care provision is very politically fraught: 
Futures Forum: Brexit: and £350million for Devon's hospitals

But it is recognised across the spectrum that things are not working:
Futures Forum: The NHS and 'sloganising' in Devon >>> and meanwhile, the 'Success Regime' claims that hospital beds are "unused" and care at home is "more efficient"...

Futures Forum: "Taking money from the NHS isn't going to solve the crisis in social care"

As made clear last week:
NHS [lack of] Success Regime rubbished by unanimous Devon County Council motion passed unanimously today | East Devon Watch

And this month:
MP’s call for additional Government funding for East Devon social care - View News
NHS cuts in Devon: 'If these services end my boys will for certain die' | Society | The Guardian

And what is not working on the local level is social care - and councils are going to have to pay more, as reported over the weekend:

Nine in 10 people in England are facing inflation-busting council tax rises next year as authorities struggle to cover the cost of caring for the vulnerable, according to a new survey. The study from the Local Government Chronicle surveyed a quarter of the 152 “top-tier councils” to uncover the pending rises.

Claire Kober, chair of the Local Government Association’s resource board, said: “After years of striving to keep council tax as low as possible or frozen, many town halls have found themselves having to ask residents to pay more council tax over the next few years, particularly to try and offset some of the spiralling costs of social care. Social care faces a funding gap of at least £2.6bn by 2020, even if every council makes full use of their current flexibility to increase council tax until the end of the decade.

Services supporting the elderly and disabled are at “breaking point”, Ms Kober added. “It cannot be left to council taxpayers alone to try and fix them. Only genuinely new additional government funding for social care will give councils any chance of protecting the services caring for our elderly and disabled.”

Councils planning tax rises to cover mushrooming cost of social care | The Independent
Council tax bills set for further inflation-busting rises | Daily Mail Online

The MP for Totnes is also the chair of the Health Committee - and she has been very outspoken about health care provision:

Futures Forum: The future of East Devon's hospitals >>> campaigning to keep - and expand funding

Today's Observer looks into the current crisis:

The Tory chair of the Commons select committee on health, Sarah Wollaston, said ministers should act immediately to prevent more suffering for elderly people, their families and other patients. She also demanded all-party talks on the future of the NHS and social care. “We are at a tipping point,” she said. “We are seeing indications of the great stresses in the system and these need addressing now.”

The Observer’s investigation reveals that the landmark government scheme designed to relieve the strain on overcrowded hospitals – the Better Care Fund – is failing to deliver its aims of keeping older people healthy at home and so cutting “bedblocking”, despite £4bn a year being poured into it.

Shock figures show Tory plans are ‘making social care worse’ | Society | The Guardian
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