The government's plans to introduce fines on local authorities who fail to provide enough elderly care beds could lead to council tax increases, the Liberal Democrats have warned.

Ministers plan to hit councils which fail to provide an adequate number of local authority care places causing "bed-blocking" in NHS hospitals with tough financial penalties.

According to the Lib Dems, the average council tax bill in the south east of England could rise by £4.37 as local authorities face £100-a-day fines for each elderly person left in a hospital bed because of a shortage of long-term care beds.

Legislation to enact the government's proposals will be debated by MPs next week.

The party's spokesman for older people, Paul Burstow, said: "Fining already underfunded social services is not addressing the cause of the problem.

"Current inadequate budgets mean that social services can't afford to provide proper care for vulnerable older people.

"Fines for what is really a government failure is typical of ministers looking to shift the blame. Fining already overstretched social services departments will force councils either to cut services or increase council taxes.

"Services for children and mental health users are usually the first to be cut by local authorities desperate to avoid fines.

"Attempts to reduce delayed discharge are leading to an increase in emergency admissions. Elderly people are forced out of hospital before they are well enough to ho home, only to return within days as emergency cases.

"Until ministers wake up to the scale of the crisis in both the home care and care home sectors, many elderly people will be victims of a 'pass the parcel' between the NHS and social services."