IREAD with some dismay about the latest Lancashire County Council proposals regarding provision of care for the elderly (LET, February 1).

It seems that every time there is a change of hierarchy in the services department, there is also a change in policy.

I appreciate that the ever-increasing elderly population is placing a greater strain on the social services budget, but question whether the resources available have been targeted at the correct areas over the past few years.

The county council is now saying that it is now preferable to provide the resources to enable elderly people to remain in their own homes, rather than moving into a residential care home.

This is something I have been arguing for since I started CROPS (Campaign for the Restoration of Elderly People's Services) in 1994/1995, when Lancashire started reducing their 'in-house' home help services and altering their assessment procedures and qualifying criteria.

If they had not followed this path, maybe they wouldn't have been in this situation now.

The latest proposal could result in the deaths of some of the pensioners affected, as has already happened in previous home closures.

These people should be able to live out the remaining years of their lives, secure in the knowledge that the taxes they have paid will enable them to live where they are happy to live and receive the best care available.

They should not be pushed from pillar to post just because of changes in policy, or changes in health and safety regulations.

I work with elderly people. I talk to them and listen to their problems, fears and hopes for the future. They don't ask for much from life other than a roof over their heads, food to eat and to be able to live their lives in their own home or where they feel secure.

Any deviation or change in circumstances can be devastating to them.

The Government White Paper 'Caring for People' defined community care as "providing the right level of intervention and support to enable people to achieve maximum independence and control over their own lives."

To achieve this, money which had been used by the Department of Social Security to pay for people in residential care was passed over in 1993 to social service departments, so they could provide more help for people in their own homes.

The object was that fewer people would need to go into residential care and the local authority would act as a gatekeeper for such care.

This White Paper was published nine years ago.

Has the county council been asleep since then, ignored its responsibilities, or has it just woken up and is producing a knee-jerk reaction to save money?

SUE TROUGHTON, Campaign for the Restoration of Elderly People's Services, Goodshaw Avenue, Loveclough.