Social services staff were due to protest outside the Wandsworth Town Hall last night (Wednesday) before councillors discussed partly privatising home help work.

Wandsworth wants to give most new work to private companies. It says their work will be closely monitored and provided more cheaply than Wandsworths own in-house team Wandsworth Home Care Services (WHCS).

But unions say social workers and their clients prefer using WHCS and the changes will mean people in some parts of the borough receive better care than in others.

The Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council has written to the Department of Health urging an investigation.

Members of the councils care services overview and scrutiny committee were due to recommend that Wandsworths executive approves the changes.