IT is ‘disappointing’ that Rishi Sunak’s 2021 budget does not ‘address social care’, according to Cheshire West and Chester Council’s cabinet member for finance.

Mr Sunak, Chancellor, unveiled his spending plans and post-Covid recovery blueprint for the UK on Wednesday (March 3).

Cllr Carol Gahan, Labour, added that the government needed to ‘pay attention’ to the issue, which her party said last week was one cause for a 4.99 per cent council tax rise — although her opposite number said the council should spend its funds 'better' to avoid such rises.

Cllr Gahan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “From what I have seen, I am really disappointed they are not addressing social care at all. That, to me, seems a serious admission because they are continuing to push that issue further down the line and it is significant — that needs to be addressed.”

At last week’s full council meeting, CWAC councillors approved the authority’s 2021/22 budget — including an increase in council tax of 4.99 per cent.

Three per cent of this is an adult social care precept, with Labour members saying that the Chancellor had forced the decision on the authority.

When asked if Mr Sunak’s 2021 spending plans made similar council tax rises more likely in the future, Cllr Gahan said: “It is most definitely something we do not want to do. We want to make sure the government pays attention to this and funds social care adequately and sustainably for the future. I really believe that is something we need to make them pay attention to.”

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In response, her Conservative counterpart, Cllr Neil Sullivan, told the LDRS: "[Social care] is an issue that will need to be addressed, it has taken longer to come up with a long term plan then we would have liked, but a lot of government attention has been on Brexit and the pandemic.

"It is an issue, and clearly we need a longer term model for the sake of everybody. However, if we spend some of the colossal amount we do spend better, it would go further. I believe there are better opportunities to spend what we do on adult social care."

The budget announcement saw a raft of coronavirus support measures extended, including furlough, support for self employed workers, and a £20 universal credit uplift all extended until the end of September.

The Chancellor also announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility — an independent body which assesses the state of the UK economy — predicts that it will return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of 2022.