SOCIAL CARE

How are we going to make spending vows a reality?

As the main political parties toss around their policy promises and spending pledges, they face a huge dilemma, says Heather Jameson. Just how much are they willing to raise taxes – or devolve them – to fix this?

In the first of its new annual reports on local government finance, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated councils will need an extra £4bn a year to maintain services, based on an inflationary council tax rise of 2% a year. That will be £18bn by the mid-2030s.

Council tax and business rates can't rise fast enough to keep pace with soaring social care demands.

Heather Jameson

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