Conservative MPs are to call for a Commons debate over a large rise in council tax across West Sussex.

The demand follows a meeting between West Sussex MPs and senior county councillors at which the Government was blamed for most of the hike.

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames also plans to table a question to Prime Minister Tony Blair as anger grows over the scale of the increase.

Councillors maintain the only reason for the proposed 9.7 per cent tax rise, due to be approved today, is to make good a £13 million shortfall in government funding for social services.

Cabinet member for resources Councillor Colin Waller said: "The whole of this bill falls on the taxpayers and, without it, the council tax increase would be only 3.8 per cent."

Council leader Harold Hall said he was determined to make sure West Sussex residents knew it was mainly government policies which would be pushing up the average Band D council tax by £64 when the bills arrived on doormats in April.

He said a leaflet explaining the rise, to be sent out with tax demands, was one of the ideas being considered by the council.

Cabinet members say that if the council did not plug the gap in social services funding, the authority would have to refuse elderly people places in residential care.

Coun Hall said: "That would also have implications for the National Health Service because many elderly people would end up in hospital beds.

"At our meeting with the West Sussex MPs, they were asked to make representations to the Government about this issue.

"I can say they were as dismayed as we are at the level of the tax increase."