The Government has been urged to set up a task force to tackle the adult social care crisis by West Sussex County Council.

The cross-party group of councillors have warned that ‘bold thinking and decisive action’ is needed to help struggling social care services, which will account for 36% of the council’s spending next year.

Leader of the council, Louise Goldsmith, said: ‘We need the Government to grasp the nettle, look at properly funding social care and make long-term plans and I was delighted that our calls received cross party support today.

'By increasing council tax we are simply adding the burden onto local council taxpayers and this does not address the wider systematic and widespread issues of an ageing population nationally with more people requiring support or care.’

Ms Goldsmith will now write to the local government minister, calling for national leadership on the issue. This will include a solution for sustainable funding for social care, a plan to help people stay independent for longer and a plan for recruiting and retaining care workers.