A retired woman who looks after her adult son with complex needs has been hit with a bill six times the usual amount from Cheshire East's social care department.

Cllr Allen Gage (Con) said the woman had been floored by the huge increase and when she had contacted the council's helpline she was told she'd been re-assessed.

"She wasn't told that she was going to be re-assessed," the Willaston councillor told this week's meeting of the full council.

"She says her circumstances haven't changed in the slightest, and the adult social care team told her, her words, it's the government's fault."

Cllr Gage asked: "Did anyone on this administration ask for re-assessments to occur in this area?

"If they did, why are re-assessments occurring without the fee-paying residents being informed?"

He wanted to know what message the council had for residents who unexpectedly receive a much larger bill than they were expecting in the current financial climate.

Cllr Jill Rhodes (Lab), chair of the adults and health committee said: "The re-assessment of residents in receipt of help from Cheshire East happens on a regular basis.

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"The council has recently actually put in a new charging policy that went through the adults committee a few months ago, so that would be one cause of re-assessment.

"If there's any change in benefits, that might be another."

She suggested the affected resident contact the relevant social worker or adult services to ask for assistance.