Care homes need a Jamie Oliver

2.18.42am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 29th Dec 2005

Paul Burstow MP - calling on a celebrity chef to step forward and campaign for better food for the elderly

Enquiries by the Liberal Democrats show that more than 2,000 homes in England failed to meet government minimum standards for meals last year. The Lib Dems and charity Counsel and Care called the figures "shocking".

Social Care inspectors failed one in five elderly homes in England on the standard of their food. Parliamentary questions put down by Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman Paul Burstow MP reveal that 250 homes missed the standards by a wide margin, and about 1,800 more narrowly.

Paul Burstow and the charity are calling on a celebrity chef to step forward and campaign for better food for the elderly in the same way Jamie Oliver did in his campaign for improved school meals.