DEVON County Council has agreed a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax to help fund a boost for under-pressure social care.

The rise equates to an extra £60.30 a year for the average Band D council taxpayer, or just over £1 a week.

This means Devon will be charging £1,267.92 for a Band D property.

Councillors agreed a rise of 1.99 per cent for general services such as education, caring for children, roads and economic development. They added this to the Govern­ment’s offer of a three per cent increase to spend directly on adult health and social care.

This will help fund a boost of £18.7m, or nearly 10 per cent more, for services for the elderly and vulnerable. It will take the total social care and health budget to £216.5m.

Added to this, South Hams Council has set its budget for the next financial year, and voted to increase its portion of council tax by the maximum amount allowed, to protect frontline services.

This equates to an extra £5 a year for a band D property, a 3.3 per cent increase to £155.42.

Ivybridge Town Council its increasing its share of the annual tax bill by 4.6 per cent – an increase of £4.56 per annum - to an average of £110.01 a year. But efficient South Brent Parish Council is actually reducing their precept for next year - requesting a total of £55,536 for 2017/18, down from £55,761 this year.

The share of council tax sent to Devon & Cornwall Police is going up two per cent for next year, an increase of £3.40 for a band D property. The fire service precept will also add to householders’ bills.

Devon’s deputy leader and finance chief John Clatworthy said: ‘We’re championing the elderly, the vulnerable and the young.

‘With reduced government support and the increased demand and cost pressures on adult care and health, it’s essential to take advantage of this. We need the certainty of income to protect services as caring for the elderly and disabled people, together with children, are our highest priorities.’

Council leader John Hart added: ‘We’ve considered this increase very seriously indeed because we’re well aware of the strain that household budgets are under.

‘But everyone knows that health and social care is under intense pressure and we must step up to the plate and do our utmost to look after our frail elderly and the most vulnerable in our communities.

‘Devon has one of the highest proportions of people over 65 and people over 85 and they need and deserve our help and support.

‘The rise will cost the average Band D council taxpayer £1.16 a week extra and I believe we are justified in asking for that to help protect and support some of the most vulnerable people in society.’

A South Hams Council spokesman said: ‘With a commitment to protect frontline services where possible, even in the wake of cuts in Govern­ment grants, councillors have reluctantly agreed to increase their portion of council tax.

‘This is a pattern which is being echoed by many of the other providers that council tax funds.

‘Of the money that South Hams District Council collects in council tax, only nine per cent goes to services provided by South Hams. The rest goes to Devon County Council, the local town or parish councils, and the fire and police services.’

At the same full council meeting, councillors agreed on a capital programme, which included a ‘community reinvestment fund’ to support communities where significant housing development has taken place; funding for disabled facilities grants to support people living independently in their own homes; and additional investment in play equipment for parks across the district.

The spokesman added: ‘We know our main funding grant will disappear completely by 2018 and we’re exploring many different options for how we can generate our own income and continue to fund services.

‘The council has already identified savings of just under £880,000 for 2017/18 on its net budget of £8.3m.

‘In the meantime, increasing council tax, while never popular, is one way we can continue to deliver important service that our communities need.

‘This has been a challenging year but we’ve met it with some very robust forward planning that has allowed us to ease the pressures on frontline services and will enable us to deliver a strong capital programme this year that will benefit the people in our communities.’

Currently, councils receive their funding from three main sources – central government grants, council tax and business rates.

Before Christmas the council received confirmation from the Government that it has been accepted for a four-year financial settlement up until 2020.  It also confirmed the council’s funding from the Government grant and business rates will be reducing by a further 39 per cent between now and 2019/20.