Officials at county councils across the country were trying to work out how far the government’s announcement of more cash for social care would go to ease the looming crisis in the sector.

Chancellor Phillip Hammond announced that he would be spending an extra £2bn on care over the next three years – with £1bn available in the next financial year.

At Suffolk County Council the impact of the extra money was being assessed. The county is putting up its element of council tax bills by 3% to help pay for increases in social care costs – largely caused by the increase in the National Living Wage which was announced by Mr Hammond’s predecessor George Osborne in 2015.

Mr Hammond also announced financial help to allow A&E units to bring in GPs from next winter to provide initial assessments – triage – for patients before deciding whether they should be admitted to hospital.

His announcements were welcomed by Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter, a former health minister who has been outspoken in his calls for more health service investment.

He said: “The most important thing for the health service is to put more support into social care so we don’t have people who don’t really need medical care being taken to A&E because there is nowhere else to go.

“It also helps to make it easier to discharge patients who no longer need medical treatment in hospital but cannot be sent home – the ‘bed-blockers.’”

Dr Poulter said investment in GPs was also necessary to try to reduce the number of hospital visits that could be more appropriately treated in the community.

The announcement of more cash for social care was greeted with relief by councillors and officials at Suffolk County Council although the exact details of the money available had not yet come through.

Cabinet Member for Adult Care Beccy Hopfensperger said: “This is very welcome news. It demonstrates that the government is taking positive action to support local authorities as we face increasing pressures within the adult social care sector.

“We look forward to finding out how much of this allocation will be coming to Suffolk to support the work we are doing for our most vulnerable residents.”