RESIDENTS are facing a six per cent hike on their council tax bill to help fund the escalating cost of elderly care.

Government minister Sajid Javid has told local authorities they should increase the special social care precept on household bills by three per cent for each of the next two years.

It is likely to mean all Band D householders across the area will have to cough up an extra £90 before March 2019 to help foot the bill for nursing, residential care and home help for vulnerable and infirm older people in the area.

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A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: "This is a slight of hand by a government unwilling to address the real issue; the huge impact of their swingeing cuts to local authority budgets.

"The announcement, which comes too late given we are in the middle of a consultation on a proposed two per cent council tax precept rise to fund adult social care, would not allow us to raise any more money than had previously been the case - we could just do it a little faster.

"We also know that this approach will raise far more in affluent areas than it will in the less well-off areas that often have the greatest need."

The rise would be in addition to any increase added to the annual bill for other council services.

A grant of £240m will also be earmarked for social care across the country - though this money is not new, and will instead be stripped away from the new homes bonus, an existing scheme that pays a premium to councils that allow new properties to be constructed.

The news also came under heavy fire from Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock, who said: "Social care is in crisis, with many older people in Furness struggling to get the right level of care and councils unable to do more because of huge cuts to their budgets.

"Changes to the precept will not drastically alter the situation in social care and this latest announcement shows how far the government are from recognising the scale of the crisis that is facing our country."

The cost of social care across the UK is not free or covered within NHS budgets.

Like other local authorities across England, social care is means tested in Cumbria, with only those who are least well off but considered to be in the greatest need granted funding from Cumbria County Council.

But the money the authority receives from the government every year has been heavily cut - meaning CCC has got less money to spend on social care while the number of people needing help as they get older is going up.

County councillor Bill McEwan, who represents Ormsgill in Barrow, said people who could least afford to pay the extra bill would suffer the most.

"This is not the way forward," he added.

"It's simply a case of the government wanting to dump the social care crisis onto council tax payers instead of funding it properly from Westminster.

"How can people in the poorest areas afford this levy?"

County council leader, Councillor Stewart Young, did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Who is entitled to council funded care?

Only people with the highest needs who have the least money will get care paid for by the local authority.

Anyone with assets of more than £23,250 will have to pay for all or part of their care costs.

This figure includes equity in your home.

How much can people keep in savings?

Anyone receiving social care will be allowed to keep £14,250.

How much does it cost to live in a residential care home?

On average, residential care costs around £580 a week in Cumbria.

What about a nursing home?

A similar cost, though costs will vary slightly across the county.

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