COUNCIL chiefs claim there could be a £50 million shortfall when new care legislation comes into force next year.

The Local Government Authority (LGA) has criticised the Department of Health's (DoH) response to the Care Act consultation saying it could further pile the pressure on cash-strapped councils.

Linda Thomas, deputy leader of Bolton Council, has also criticised the way DoH has worked out the cost of the new act.

Cllr Thomas, who is also the vice chair of the Local Government Community Wellbeing Board, said: “We disagree with the way the DoH has calculated how much some aspects of the Care Act are going to cost next year.

"We believe there could still be a shortfall of as much as £50 million in 2015/16 and therefore remain extremely concerned.

"This risks leaving councils with yet another pressure on already stretched budgets next year and inadequately funding the Care Act will tip some services into failure."

Between June and August this year, the DoH asked organisations and the public to share their views on the draft Care Act regulations �— which are due to come into force in April 2015.

A DoH spokesman said: “Many consultation responses, in particular those from local government, highlighted concerns about adequate funding for social care.”

As a result, the government changed its estimates — rising to an additional £100 million in funding per year.

The DoH stated that an extra £22 million a year from 2015/16, increasing to £27.5 million from 2017/18 onwards, would be available to help local authorities manage demand.

Cllr Thomas welcomed the additional cash allowance yet warned the changes would incur further costs.

She added: "Councils are committed to supporting carers as best they can. We are glad that we have secured up to £100 million of extra money each year for councils for the next 10 years.

"But there is still a risk changes will cost at least £50 million on top of this each year. The fact that the Government has pledged to monitor these additional costs for the first year will be a hollow gesture if the Treasury doesn’t match this with a commitment to fully fund councils for any additional costs incurred."