Social care funding in Barking and Dagenham fell by more than £6,000 in the space of six years, according to figures released by the council.

The 13 per cent drop in funding was revealed in budgetary data by Barking and Dagenham Council, spanning the years 2009/10 to 2015/16.

The release of the figures followed a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) which revealed one in 10 councils across the UK cut spending on adult social care by a quarter.

Spending in London dropped the most – by 18pc – followed by Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Tynside.

David Phillips, an associate director for the IFS, said: “Council spending on social care has been cut in most parts of England, but regions like London and the North East have seen bigger cuts than average.

“This reflects the fact that these were high-spending areas with high levels of deprivation that relied a lot on grants from the government to help fund local services.

“It is these grants that have been cut back since 2010, in an effort to cut government spending and reduce the budget deficit.

“So with a big fall in their overall budgets, councils in London and the North East may have had little choice but to make substantial cuts to adult social care budgets.”

The biggest reduction in spending on social care in the borough occurred between 2012 and 2013, a drop of 5pc.

Overall social care spending was slashed by £6,353, from £49,495 in 2009/10 to £43,142 in 2015/16.

Although Mr Phillips indicated that the true figure might be even higher, as adjustments are made to account for shifting budgetary responsibilities and inflation.

A council spokesman said: “Like councils across the country, we have suffered from a massive income shortfall thanks to government cuts.

“It means adult social care has taken its share of this pressure.

“The government recognised the scale of this problem recently which is why they allowed councils to add a social care precept to residents’ council tax bills, to help fill some of the gap.

“But this is papering over the cracks. Unless a comprehensive solution is provided at national level, then the funding for such an important service will continue to fall upon local councils.

“And that means that the poorest areas in the country will continue to have the biggest difficulty meeting the needs of their most vulnerable.

“The status quo is frankly unjust and unsustainable.”

A government spokesman said: “We recognise the challenges councils face in delivering social care and the need for a long-term sustainable solution.

“That’s why we’re giving councils an extra £2 billion to help deliver these services, taking the total to an additional £9.25 billion over the remainder of this Parliament.

“It’s also why we’re committed to having a fair and more sustainable way of funding adult social care for the future, especially given people are living longer.

“We’ll be setting out our proposals in a forthcoming green paper.”