Council Tax Rise will not plug Care Cash Shortfall say Kent Lib Dems

Kent Liberal Democrats have revealed that the Government's plan to allow Kent County Council to raise council tax will only raise a small proportion of the council's social care budget - just 1.2%.

This means that older and disabled people will still face a massive shortfall in funding needed.

A 1% increase in council tax would raise £6 million, although the total budget for social care in Kent is £500m. Kent County Council imposed an extra 2% allowed by the Government this year, but this still didn't stop it going into the red.

Lib Dem County Councillor Martin Vye said:

"If council tax was a fair tax, relying on it to plug the gap might be acceptable. But it is not. A millionaire can end up paying the same amount as a teacher or a nurse because of the way that the system works.

"Poor people pay a much higher proportion of their income in council tax than rich people. The needs of the extremely poor will be paid for by other poor people if council tax is the only route for dealing with this problem.

"The amount raised will vary dramatically across the country. The 2 per cent increase last year brought in about £360 million nationally and still leaves a predicted gap of £2.7 billion by 2020.

"We need root and branch reform of how our social care system is funded and I am pleased to see that the Liberal Democrats are calling for politicians to put aside their differences and do just that."