A third of English councils will be unable to raise enough money through the social care precept to pay for the services they are meant to cover, according to new research.
Care England, representing independent providers of adult social care, says councils have 'exhausted their social care precept flexibility' in the last two years and it is not clear where any extra funds will come from.
It called on the Government to step in to avoid care homes being closed because of rising costs and because councils can no longer afford to pay for them.
Care England chief executive, Professor Martin Green, said: 'These local authorities have exhausted their social care precept flexibility over the course of the last two years and with budgets being tightened it is hard to envisage where the necessary extra funds will come from in 2019/20.
'Care England has long called for the ability to plan for the long term in order to have some stability in the sector both in terms of providers investing in services, but crucially for those in receipt of services having certainty over the services that they require remaining in place'.
He added: 'The Government needs to step-in urgently to avert care home closures as providers struggle with rising costs and low fees paid by councils'.
