Local authorities will be given new powers to increase council tax by up to 2 per cent in a bid to tackle social care funding.
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who made the announcement in his Autumn Statement, has said the money will be levied by councils responsible for social care and this will be all they will be able to spend it on.
Mr Osborne said: “If all authorities make full use of it, it will bring almost £2bn more into the care system.
“It’s part of the major reform we’re undertaking to integrate health and social care by the end of this decade.”
To support the integration of health and social care, Mr Osborne also announced extra funding of £1.5bn for the Better Care Fund.
The autumn statement also reiterated the government’s commitment to the introduction of a social care cap, originally due to be introduced next April but delayed until 2020.
