Kent County Council is to slash spending by £80m in plans outlined today that it has admitted will lead to cuts in services.

The Conservative administration says it is facing unprecedented pressure on its budget as it strives to cope with a rising demand for services - notably in social care - against a backdrop of declining government grants.

Residents will feel the impact in their council tax bills, which are set to rise by just under 2% - raising an extra £11m to help cushion the blow.

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KCC says it needs to spend £58m more because of growing demand for services, of which £41.8m are unavoidable.

But it has yet to say where the axe will fall to make savings - saying that it wants to hear from residents first before taking any decisions.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter said he would be pressing the government to reimburse the extra costs caused by ongoing surge in young asylum seekers arriving in the county.

“We are under extraordinary pressure. We are not alone in that but we are unique in dealing with the issue of asylum,” he said.

"Councils are facing unprecedented pressures on two major fronts - rapidly rising demand for adult social care and continuing reduction in government funding" - Paul Carter

But he declined to comment on how far-reaching any service cuts would be, saying the council wanted to wait until the government detailed spending settlements next month.

Mr Carter added the introduction of the living wage was a further pressure, particularly in social care where companies providing services would pass on the additional costs - estimated at between £12m and £14m - to the council.

“Councils are facing unprecedented pressures on two major fronts - rapidly rising demand for adult social care and continuing reduction in government funding,” he said.

Cllr Carter warned that unless the government reflected the pressure Kent was under in social care “we will have an even bigger problem”.

Cllr John Simmonds, cabinet member for finance, said: “We are going to have to make difficult decisions to reduce access and perhaps in some cases cease services. It is going to be a very difficult balancing act.”

Under proposals now out for public consultation, KCC says it will try to bridge its funding gap by charging more for some services and increasing money made by its trading companies, raising an extra £6.6m.

A further £29.8m would be saved by “efficiencies” - including spending £1.1m less on home to school transport; £5m less on support services and £6.2m less on older people.

But at this stage, the council has admitted that it has yet to identify how £7m of these savings will be made.

Precise job losses next year have not been detailed but the council says that it expected to cut the workforce by between 300 and 500 in the next five years.

The 1.99% council tax rise, if agreed, would increase bills for homes in Band C by about £20.

Opposition parties expressed some sympathy with KCC’s plight saying that the government was chiefly to blame.

Cllr Roger Latchford, Ukip group leader, said KCC was doing what it could to minimise the impact of drastic cuts in government grants.

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Analysis by our political editor Paul Francis

“We have been here before but the cuts to county council services this year come against a backdrop of pressures unique to Kent - notably, the refugee crisis that has seen an extraordinary surge in the number of young teenage asylum seekers arriving in Kent.

That has made proposals on how the budget arguably harder than ever and if the government fails to reimburse the full costs incurred by social services then an already bleak outlook becomes even grimmer.

But if you are looking for precise details on how the council is going to bridge its £80m shortfall, you won’t find them - yet. KCC has given us some broad brush strokes and plenty of alarming figures.

It wants to hear from residents first - which is fair enough but without more detail, residents might feel less than enthused.”

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