The proposal to increase council tax by 15% to fund adult social care has been unanimously backed by Surrey County Council’s cabinet.

The tax rise will now be considered by the Full Council on 7 February, followed by a public referendum if approved.

Council leader, David Hodge, said: ‘Today we face a dilemma in terms of our budget. There is a stark choice between recommending a significant increase in council tax next year or making cuts to services throughout the county.

‘We are recommending we use the mechanism the Government has set in place for councils to put proposals to their residents for council tax increases. We recommend a budget for 2017/18 which will include a 15% increase in council tax to fund social care and other vital services in Surrey.’

In the local government finance settlement, the Government announced councils would be allowed to increase council tax by 6% over the next two years in order to fund social care services. According to the Government, this could raise an additional £652m by 2020.