MORE money is urgently needed from Government for social services, says Buckinghamshire County Council leader David Shakespeare.

The council is about to start work on next year's budget and Cllr Shakespeare said there is not enough Government money to meet the national standard required.

He said increasing council tax to make up the difference is an option but added: "It is national underfunding that is the problem. In Bucks the council tax payer is already subsidising social services by an extra £12 million."

That is about 12p on council tax.

Last week the Local Government Association, which represents all councils, unanimously backed a call from Cllr Shakespeare for the Government to deliver the money. Speakers from all parties and councils all over the country said they could not run social services on what they are getting.

Cllr Shakespeare says there is an urgent need to meet Government Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

He is backed by Wycombe MP Paul Goodman (Con), who is concerned at the increasingly difficult situation in the hospitals, caused in part because elderly people cannot be moved out into social services care. One in five hospital beds is occupied by a so-called bed blocker.

More money is needed because people are living longer and in need of more care. At Monday's council cabinet meeting Hugh Carey, councillor in charge of adult care, said a fifth of the population was over 60. By 2025 the number of people over 80 would have gone up by half.

A Department of Health spokesman said the Government had provided significant extra funding for social services. "It has been increased in real terms by 12 per cent between 1996/7 and 2000/2001. And it will increase by an average of 3.4 per cent per annum over the next three years, in real terms," he added.