COUNCILLORS have deferred a decision on privatising social care for elderly people in York so they can look at ways of keeping it in the state sector.

Council officers will continue with plans to have the entire home care assessment and training scheme provided by private companies or charities.

But they will also look at whether the way the service is run could be changed so that it can remain in the state sector.

The decision was made yesterday after members of the Unison and GMB unions lobbied members of the council’s executive against the privatisation scheme because they believe it could lead to reduced wages and reduced quality of service. Heather McKenzie, of Unison, said: “The people of York deserve a service of the quality they have at the moment and that can be sustainable into the future.”

Councillors want to make the scheme free to pensioners and increase the number of potential customers. The number of York residents aged 85 or over has increased by nine per cent in two years, a rise expected to continue.

Council leader Coun Andrew Waller said: “We need to response to that increased demand.”

Coun Jonathan Morley, adult social services portfolio holder, said of the service’s staff: “I recognise their continued contributions to make the service more effective.

“But I would suggest, they may wonder whether it can be achieved without a more radical change to the way the service is delivered.”

Ms McKenzie handed in a petition signed by pensioners who use the service and their relatives.

She said staff were “angry” and felt “very let down” and raised issues about the quality of care available and staff training outside the public sector. She also queried the council’s figures on how much it cost to provide the service compared with non-state provision.

The service, called “Reablement” gives elderly people the skills they need to live independently in their homes rather than go into a care home or be reliant on home helps. York currently has more than 33,000 residents aged over 65 and this is expected to raise to 37,000 by 2015 and 40,100 by 2020.