Council leaders are calling on the Prime Minister to deliver fairer funding for counties.
A letter signed by more than 30 leaders said shire councils were now missing out on £3.2billion of funding compared to other parts of the country.
Among the signatories is Cllr Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County Council.
He said urgent action was needed to redress the balance between counties and cities.
“The good news is we are all living longer, but that in turn means we have an ever increasing number of frail elderly residents,” he said.
“As a result of this, the costs of providing care to the most vulnerable adults and children in Staffordshire has increased by more than £100million in the last decade, at the same time when national funding has continued to fall.
“We have stripped back the running costs of the county council, but with record spending on adults social care, children in our care and support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, in the long term the situation is simply unsustainable.
“We have made it clear to Government that while one-off cash injections are welcome, we need a long-term fair solution to ensure counties are funded in the same way city and urban areas have been for some considerable time.”
