IN THE face of some fierce opposition, Bexley Council is to press ahead with plans to axe the hot meals on wheel service for the vulnerable and elderly and replace it with home cooked frozen meals.

Council cabinet member for adult care Councillor Sharon Massey hit out at what she called "false rumours" of the dangers of food poisoning by using frozen meals and suggestions the new service could cost £15 a meal.

Bexley is proposing the 400-plus people who currently have a hot meal delivered to their home will instead order, store and pay for their own frozen meals, bought from approved suppliers or supermarkets.

They will then microwave the food to provide a hot meal.

Those who cannot do this will have the help of a home care assistant.

Cllr Massey denounced the current meals for being of poor quality.

She said they were cooked at 7am and were then kept warm for at least three hours before being delivered.

Cllr Massey said if the delivery was the only social contact of the day for an elderly person, other support should be provided.

She added the number of people taking meals on wheels is declining in Bexley, but was rising in other places where frozen meals were now being used.

There were jeers from the public, which included elderly people and relatives of meals on wheels users, when she suggested users could choose, order and pay for their meals on the internet.

Cllr Massey said the starting price for meals was £1.70.

She added: "People will be charged less, without the council having to pay any subsidy."

The downside will be job losses involving more than 30 cooks and delivery drivers, who will be offered redeployment where possible.

Labour group leader Councillor Chris Ball described Cllr Massey's description of the new service "the defence of the indefensible".

He agreed the most vulnerable deserved quality meals, but said Cllr Massey should not underestimate the massive public concern.

Cllr Ball urged the council to review the service and find out the facts before making a decision.

He added: "If you find resistance, the council should back off."

Labour councillor Brenda Langstead said she had been a care assistant for seven years.

She claimed some of the meals on wheels clients were not even able to peel back the foil lids of the current hot meals.

Cllr Langstead added: "I am concerned about the assessments which will be done to see who needs extra help."

She said some people could give the impression of being capable when assessed, while in reality they were not.

Cllr Massey said experts would assess which people needed extra help to order and cook their meals.

She said grants were available for those who did not have freezers or microwaves.

And she claimed: "We have not found a single person who will have to pay extra for the new service."

Cllr Massey said people could claim an attendance allowance then use it to pay someone to heat their meals for them.

She said the new service would provide quality and value for money.

And she added: "This service has had its day, and we must move on for the sake of the elderly."

Ian Wall, whose mother Joan receives the service, was at the meeting.

He said afterwards: "The council has just looked at the cost, not the service."

Mr Wall, who has sent a letter of protest to Cllr Massey, added: "The logical thing to do, if the quality of food is not good, is to improve it, not scrap the hot meals just to save £70,000."