Hertfordshire County Council will write to the Secretary of State outlining its 'dissatisfaction' at an £8.5m cut to adult social care.

The Clinical Commissioning Group informed the county council that it was going to withdraw the funding on December 2.

It came after an 'Investment Committee' was set up by the CCG to examine all areas of spending - with the aim of eliminating the CCG's projected overspend of £15m for 2017/18.

Councillor Quilty, Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee, said: “The decision, which the committee has reached unanimously, to recommend that this matter be referred to the Secretary of State is not one the Committee has taken lightly.

"It is indicative of the severity of the impact on the health of Hertfordshire’s residents that the withdrawal of funding will cause.

“We have considered evidence from colleagues working in all areas of care in Hertfordshire.

"It is clear that this decision would put additional pressure on GP services; increase people’s length of stay in hospitals; have a negative impact on admission and readmission rates; and is in stark contrast to commitments made to bring health and social care together to provide the best possible services to Hertfordshire’s residents.”

The committee requested evidence from the police and health partners in Hertfordshire including; the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, the West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust, the Royal College of Nursing Eastern Region, the East of England Ambulance Trust and the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

The recommendation will go to full council for consideration on Tuesday 21st February. The Secretary of State has the power to make the final decision on any action to be taken by HVCCG or HCC, in the event of a referral by Full Council.

Only once before in the Health Scrutiny Committee’s 15 year history has a similar recommendation been made.