Long-term care services for the elderly and disabled face a £4.3bn shortfall in funding by the end of the decade, influential groups have warned.
The figure is a 29% of current annual adult social care spending, with councils the most stretched part of the health and social care system.
The Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) have issued the warning following their Adult social care funding: 2014 state of the nation report.
During the last year £900m was diverted from other budgets by councils to maintain current levels of service, despite efficiency savings and £7.2billion given since the 2010 spending review over the last 4 years.
Budget savings of 26% have already been achieved, and the report warns there is limited scope for further savings and real concerns about the implications of the Care Act on funding.
The gap in funding in local government is growing at £2.1bn per annum, the equivalent of 125m hours of home care provision and by the end of 2015/16 the funding gap will stand at £5.8bn.
The increasing costs in adult social care caused by demographic change are currently 3% of the total budget available to councils for providing services, about £400m per year.
Social care as a proportion of council budgets is increasing as councils aim to protect it from spending cuts, it will account for 35% of council spending in 2014/15 compared to 30% in 2010/11.
In 2013/14 there were 2.16m "contacts" from people in need of social care, a 4% increase on the previous year. Meanwhile, there has be a decrease in adult social care spending since 2010 of 12%.
Cllr David Sparks, chair of the LGA, said: "These new figures are further proof that we need to stop vital adult social care services spiralling into a black hole. We must act now to both improve quality of life for people in their older years and steer England's social care system away from the road to financial ruin."
