Give Asian elders better meals

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 20th Jun 2003

Liberal Democrat councillor Chandubhai Patel has called on Brent Council to investigate the poor meals provided to elderly Asian residents by the Council's " meals on wheels " service.

Following complaints from several individuals and Asian Organisations, including Brent Indian Association, Councillor Patel purchased one of the meals to try it out for himself.

He concluded that the meals were :

· Poorly prepared.

· Inadequate in quantity (small portions)

· Poor in Nutritional value

· Risky - as they only had cooking instructions in English

According to the Liberal Democrats, Asian elders have been concerned for some time about the falling standards in the quality and quantity of food provided. The recent move by Brent Council to provide frozen meals only,

as part of a cost cutting exercise, brought the issue to a head.

The quality and quantity of the food has become worse then ever - and as a result, many individuals and organisations have cancelled their orders for these inferior meals.

"Meals on Wheels is an essential service to thousands of Brent residents. It is important that the food represents good value, both in terms of nutrition and quantity. The new meals fail the test, and urgent action is needed to provide Brent's elderly with quality meals that they deserve" says Lib Dem councillor Chandubhai Patel.

The Liberal Democrats have called for a review of ALL meals provided, and for the decision to provide frozen meals to be reconsidered if quality and quantity standards cannot be met.