Jim Couchman, Conservative county council cabinet member for social care, should know better than to accuse me of "scaremongering" (Oxford Mail, September 25).

It is a fact that the Tories' grossly inadequate budget for residential and nursing care was not sufficient for the number of care home placements currently being made. It is also a fact that there were 67 people waiting in hospital for county council services on September 8.

I am therefore calling on the Tories to release money from a £1m reserve fund this year and to fund social care properly in future years.

Imagine the media outcry there would be if 67 children were stuck in hospital because appropriate social services were unavailable.

I believe the county council's failure to look after frail and vulnerable older people should provoke a similar response.

The council should now face up to its statutory responsibility for looking after these people.

Indeed, some older people might not end up in hospital in the first place if it were not for the inadequacy of Oxfordshire's social services.

Mr Couchman likes to talk about cooperation with the NHS.

But until the Tories are willing to fund the services that could reduce delayed discharges from hospital, his words will be just hot air.

BARBARA GATEHOUSE Councillor) Labour spokesman on social and community services Oxfordshire County Council