Save our old folk

Council leader Hazel Harding and her deputy Doreen Pollitt were given a grilling by several MPs as the true state of the county's crumbling residential homes was revealed.

County council is proposing to close and sell 35 of its 48 old folk's residential homes, 19 of which would be in East Lancashire, as part of a review of the service.

Unions fear the re-organisation will cost jobs and around 700 pensioners in East Lancashire face an uncertain future and could be put into private accommodation as a result.

Many of them are currently living in accommodation in need of refurbishment. County hall has not carried out any of the work because it knew the review was looming.

Just under £4million needs to be spent on things such as removing walls and increasing bedroom sizes before 2007 to bring all homes up to new Government minimum standards.

But county hall has said a further £10million needs to be spent to carry out urgent refurbishments on things such as faulty lifts, damaged fire alarms, unhygienic kitchens and poor sanitation.

If the sale of all the homes earmarked for closure goes ahead, around £4.4million will be raised to cover the cost of refurbishing the others and developing them. The council plans to transfer some pensioners into private care and look after others in their own homes as part of the shake-up and a final decision will be taken in July.

At the meeting, the Lancashire councillors were told they had made a major mistake in proposing the dramatic cutbacks.

The MPs present at the meeting made clear that the consultation period until July was a real examination of people's views and that a rethink was needed.

Among those present at the meeting were Hyndburn MP Greg Pope -- for whom Councillor Pollitt works in his constituency office; Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, Burnley's Peter Pike; Preston's Mark Hendrick; Chorley's Lindsay Hoyle, West Lancashire's Colin Pickthall -- who works as an aide to Blackburn MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw; and Lancaster's Hilton Dawson, a former social services manager.

Mr Pope said: "It was a very robust exchange of views.

"The MPs made clear they were very unhappy at the decision and the way it had been handled.

"There were some points made by the county council representatives which need to be considered. "We accept that there are problems in terms of new government standards but we all want to improve standards for elderly people in care. More and more elderly people want to live at home.

"But the MPs made clear they wanted the county council to go back home and reconsider the proposals.

"We hope there will be another meeting, not necessarily at Westminster, in a few weeks time. This has to be a genuine consultation."

Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, who was also present at the meeting at the House of Commons said: "It was a very frank meeting. We made clear that the MPs were not happy at the decision."

"The MPs expressed their view that the consultation had to be genuine and that the council had to reconsider the decision. There's a lot that could be done in terms of the voluntary and private sectors and extra help from the government.

"We shall be raising this issue in a special debate at Westminster that I and other Lancashire MPs have asked for. We can't have elderly people who don't want to be moved from their homes moved out in this way."

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "Burnley will be the worst affected of all of Lancashire's boroughs with five homes scheduled for closure. It was a very frank and angry meeting.

"The MPs made clear that they wanted the council to reconsider the plan and asked them to go back and look at it again. This is a consultation process and we hope that our views will be taken into account. We want the council to look at these plans and see what can be done." Coun Harding said after the meeting: "They asked us to go to London and we managed to tie it in with picking up an award.

"For me, it was an important part of the consultation and I appreciate that they have to represent the views of their constituents.

"But I also hope they understand that no decisions have been made, no forgone conclusions have been reached and that if people can suggest viable alternatives, we will listen.

"Doing nothing, however, is still not an option.

"I am desperately sorry that these people might have to move but more people want caring for in their homes and we have to respond to that. This is not about saving money."

The closures are based on a mixture of consultants' reports and social services knowledge.

The proposals were shown to cabinet last week.

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed last week, Cravenside Home in Barnoldswick would only cost £3,000 to bring up to minimum new standards which will be required by law in 2007.

Cravenside, the report states, needs just £3,000 of minor alterations to reach the new standards, but £190,000 to totally redcoarate it, install a new gas boiler and ensure a nurse-call facility -- which lets people contact staff in an emergency -- works.

Around £150,000 needs spending at Whinberry in Cloughfield, £75,000 of which will be on mending windows.

At Brookville in Bacup, just £10,000 needs spending to bring it up to Government standards, but a further £245,000 on backlogged repairs, including a new roof and windows.

Special adaptors need fitting to the hot water system in Wheatley Court in Fence to make sure that the water isn't so hot as to scald the residents, part of a £208,000 total bill.

Coun David Whipp, leader of the Lib Dems on Lancashire County Council, said: "It is obvious that this exercise is about saving money."

But Coun Doreen Pollitt, deputy leader and ex-chairman of the social services committee, said: "In 1998 we said the money saved from six home closures would be used to establish rehabitation centres and improve home help. We have done that."

A spokesman for Unison at County Hall said: "We think these plans will cost 1,000 jobs.

"There might be more in the private sector but they do not pay as well, and it will be women who lose out."