Pledges by political parties to protect and enhance NHS spending at the expense of social care budgets area ‘false economy, council chiefs have claimed.

Responding to the continued pressure on hospital accident and emergency services, which has seen more than a dozen hospitals declare emergency measures amid an escalating political row, Cllr Izzi Secombe, chair of the Local Government Association's community wellbeing board said the health and social care system was ‘chronically underfunded'.