LABOUR MP Christine Russell has attacked the Tory council over £3m cuts affecting services for elderly people.

But Cheshire West and Chester Council claims it is simply following Labour policy by delivering the same high quality services but cheaper.

The Conservative council aims to:

Reduce fees to privately-run residential and nursing homes

Privatise the home help service

Deliver a meals on wheels service for £100,000 less a year

At the weekend, city MP Ms Russell met former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott at the top rated Stone House care home in Cheyney Road, Chester, which is now asking relatives of council-funded residents to pay a £25-a-week top-up fee to make up for the predicted short-fall.

Ms Russell said: “David Cameron says if you want to see what a Tory government will be like, look at Tory councils. This Tory council is hitting the most vulnerable, the most frail people in our city.”

She said relatives of older people who have had the “same home help for years” had expressed concerns about privatising the home care services, fearing it will lead to “a different, inexperienced young person” visiting their loved one each day.

She suspects taking £100,000 out of the meals-on-wheels service will affect the quality of the food.

Cllr Brenda Dowding, executive member for adult social care and health, hit back: “We are prioritising the most vulnerable in our society.

“We are maintaining the services in a very difficult economic climate and looking everywhere we can to improve services.”

She said Cheshire was paying too much for care homes, creating a choice of home help providers was Labour policy and taste tests had shown the catering contract would not cut quality.