Plans to allow councils to raise extra money to meet the rising costs of caring for elderly and frail people would cover only a third of what could be needed in Kent, it has been claimed.

The government has announced authorities will be able to increase the council tax by an additional 2% so long as the money is ploughed into adult social care.

Kent County Council has given a cautious welcome to the news but finance chiefs say a 2% rise - on top of any other tax increase - would raise about £11m, leaving a shortfall of £20m based on estimates of what demand will be next year.

The growing pressure on care services in Kent has been underlined by figures showing the county council has already spent £7m more on domiciliary care than it budgeted for.

The increased costs are attributable to a huge increase in the amount of care being provided to adults living in their own homes.

KCC had forecast it would need 1,168,456 hours of care this year but that has already risen by 485,679 hours - equivalent to an additional £7m.

Finance director Andy Wood told a meeting of KCC’s cabinet today: "The big issue is the living wage. We expect rising costs of adult social care to be £30m next year. A 2% council tax rise will raise about £11m - that is quite a big gap.”

Cllr Graham Gibbens, KCC’s cabinet member for adult care, said: “We welcome the fact that the government has recognised there is a need for adult social care to be funded more efficiently.

"However,we do need to know more about what an increase [in council tax] would mean. There is increasing demand. Last winter, there was a spike in the numbers of elderly falling ill and needing care when they came out of hospital.”

"We expect rising costs of adult social care to be £30m next year. A 2% council tax rise will raise about £11m - that is quite a big gap" - KCC finance director Andy Wood

Opposition Labour group leader Cllr Gordon Cowan said he would back an additional 2% but had concerns about how it would be monitored.

“The biggest concern for me is how you ensure that the money you collect is all invested in adult care? Care costs are heading through the roof. We have to make sure that the elderly are looked after in the right way and if that means a small council tax increase, we should be supporting it.”

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne said the right to increase council tax would go some way to dealing with growing pressure on care budgets.

But his claim that it would ease the pressure on hard-pressed councils was disputed, with social services directors saying the extra money raised would be inadequate.

KCC’s annual budget for adult social care is about £350 million, with half of that being spent on residential care.

A 2% council tax hike for homes in Band C in would be just under £20.