The decision to increase the cost of meals-on-wheels by 11 per cent was made in "a less than transparent manner" and must be reviewed, according to a leading politician.

Proposals to increase the cost of meals-on-wheels across the county was exclusively revealed by the Evening Gazette.

The decision to increase the price of meals- on-wheels by 20p twice the normal annual increase came in for scrutiny by Paul Sztumpf, the Labour group leader and executive board member.

If allowed to go ahead, the cost of meals-on-wheels in Essex would increase from £1.80 to £2 a day in February. For an elderly person who gets meals every day, this would cost an extra £73 a year.

The increase has been criticised by elderly groups, including Age Concern Colchester, which said the increase was "steep" and sparked fears that some pensioners might choose to go without the meals rather than fork out the extra money.

The decision was taken by the cabinet member for community care on December 19, but Mr Sztumpf called it in at the beginning of this year.

Mr Sztumpf said: "The decision to increase the service user contribution to meals-on-weels seems to have been taken at very short notice and in a less than transparent manner.

"Such increases should be considered as part of the proper annual budgetary review and reported to council in the normal fashion, not taken near the end of a financial year, especially in a service used by vulnerable groups such as the elderly."

Published Thursday, January 9, 2003

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