A COUNCIL which is looking to cut £167m from its budget has been criticised after failing to correctly bill a disabled pensioner who is desperate to pay for her care.

The family of sheltered housing resident Joan Hunter said they have been left frustrated and dismayed by North Yorkshire County Council - after making numerous failed attempts to pay the authority for the care she receives at The Orchards in Brompton, near Northallerton.

Ellie Carrick, of Thirsk, said her 89-year-old mother, who has lived at the 37 home complex for 18 months, has been left in a state of anxiety after invoices from the council dried up.

She said: "My mum comes from a generation where all she wants to do is pay for what she has had, and her care has been outstanding.

"If I wasn't looking after my mum she would be dead from the stress.”

Mrs Carrick said after querying the amount her mother was billed last summer, she requested itemised bills from the authority.

She said despite repeatedly phoning the council and contacting a leading councillor about her concerns, there have been several months when the authority did not send a bill.

Mrs Carrick said that after making a formal complaint against the council in January, officers attended a meeting to resolve the issue but without the necessary information.

She said she was later told the council was experiencing "technical issues over the exchange of information between departments" and that working practices had been reviewed.

Mrs Carrick said as her complaint remained unresolved, the council advised her to raise the issue with the local government ombudsman - but all she wanted was a meeting with officers who had the right information.

She said: "We have been asking for a copy of the care time sheets for nine months and they are being sent intermittently.

"If this is the situation we are experiencing you wonder how many other people are going through this and how much money a council which is making cuts is not collecting."

A council spokeswoman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases, but we can confirm we are in direct correspondence with the family to resolve these concerns.

"The county council would always seek to work towards a solution with families when issues like this are raised.”