HOMEOWNERS will be asked to pay more council tax as those who hold the purse strings at Cumbria County Council (CCC) attempt to find millions of pounds of savings.

The authority's cabinet has recommended an increase of 1.99 per cent for 2017/18, as well as an additional two per cent for adult social care.

For a Band D property this equates to a rise of £49.15 and will push the overall total to £1,281.02.

Councillor Patricia Bell, deputy leader of CCC and cabinet member responsible for finance, said the decision was made against a backdrop of continuing austerity in public finances, increasing demands on key local services and future uncertainty.

The council has delivered £198m of savings since 2011 - and is still required by Government to find £52m by 2020.

"This is the eighth year the council has been forced to make savings and even after this year there are more financial challenges ahead," she said.

"This year’s budget is being recommended following several years of sound strategic planning which has seen the council modernise, transform, and downsize.

"We have worked hard to protect front-line services across the county and to ensure that local residents continue to get the best possible value for money, and today’s budget recommendation is a reflection of that."

If Full Council agree to cabinet’s recommendations when it meets on February 16 this will mean a net revenue budget of £374.422 for 2017/18.

Meanwhile, the council has agreed to shut Marsh House care home in Ulverston, as well as eight others in Carlisle and Copeland.

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Instead, people in south Cumbria will be moved into Elmhurst on Priory Road, Ulverston or the newly-opened Parkview Gardens in Barrow.

The £12m investment required to build the new care homes in the north and west of the county was approved by Full Council last year. They are expected to be open in 2018/19.

The two per cent rise in social care has to be used exclusively in that sector.

"The issue of social care funding is one of the major questions that, as a country, we will have to face in the coming years, and Cumbria is no exception," said Cllr Bell.

"The government is expecting councils with social care responsibilities to meet the growing pressures of social care, while at the same time failing to provide the cash that the service requires.

"However, this administration is not content to let the vulnerable or the elderly suffer because social care is underfunded.

"We have therefore taken the difficult decision to raise council tax in order to ensure that our social care system gets at least some of the funding it needs."