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Council tax may have to increase for millions of households in 2022 to pay for social care despite Boris Johnson's manifesto-busting raid on national insurance, ministers fear.
Town halls will likely need additional funding due to most of the money raised from the 1.25 per cent NI increase set to go to the NHS over three years before it is diverted into social care in 2024.
Families would then be left facing a 'double whammy' of tax increases in April next year, with some ministers now believing council tax rises of around five or six per cent on average will be levied to plug the gap, The Telegraph reports.
Some Tory MPs now worry they will meet upset local party members when they return from Westminster to their constituencies for the first time since the tax hike was passed through the Commons.
A government source said: 'There will be pressure but that is one of a number of factors. Some of the others are looking more positive than councils were telling us six months ago.'
Town halls will likely need additional funding due to most of the money raised from the 1.25 per cent NI increase set to go to the NHS over three years before it is diverted into social care in 2024 (pictured: Boris Johnson)
Conservative support plummeted five points to 33 per cent while Labour's share increased by one point to 35 per cent, putting Sir Keir Starmer's party ahead of the Tories for the first time since January
The House voted by 319 to 248 in favour of the 1.25 percentage point increase in NI contributions amid deep unhappiness among many Conservative MPs
By Daniel Martin, Policy Editor for the Daily Mail
Suggestions that the social care cap will help Londoners more than Northerners may put the Tories' Red Wall seats at risk, the party was warned last night.
Homeowners in the North face losing three times more of their assets than families in the capital – while those in the Midlands will lose twice as much – according to an analysis.
It adds to concerns that the proposals will do little to prevent people having to sell their homes.
On Tuesday the Prime Minister unveiled his care plan, which will see a lifetime cap of £86,000 on care costs – paid for by a 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance. A poll published yesterday – showing Labour ahead of the Conservatives for the first time since January – has caused jitters in the Tory ranks.
The YouGov survey found Sir Keir Starmer's party on 35 per cent – two points ahead of the Tories on 33 per cent.
This is the Conservatives' lowest rating since the 2019 election. Last week the Health Foundation think-tank suggested the care cost cap could actually benefit those living in the North.
This is because, under the current system where people face unlimited care costs, northern homeowners pay more as a proportion of the value of their home than those in the South. They said this difference would be lessened if a cap was imposed.
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