Bradford Council may rethink its proposals to close three homes for the elderly, it emerged today. Issues understood to have been brought up at a private meeting yesterday could lead to the retention of one of the homes and a longer timescale for shutting down others.

The press and public are not allowed to attend informal meetings of the Council's scrutiny committees, in accordance with the authority's legal standing orders.

But families who have been campaigning to keep the homes open say they should have been allowed in for the discussion at the informal social care and housing scrutiny committee meeting in City Hall yesterday.

Scrutiny committee chairman Grahame Thornton (Lib Dem, Baildon) had previously told the Telegraph & Argus that he would give a statement after the meeting, although it would be held in private.

But yesterday he said he was making no comment until "everything was in the open" at another meeting of his committee next week, which the public can attend.

But the T&A understands that members were told the number of places available in private homes when the closure proposals were first announced have now halved.

The possibility of retaining one of the three threatened homes is believed to have been discussed and councillors looked at delaying closures. It is believed future care of elderly people, in long term care because of physical frailty, was also looked at in terms of more provision for care in the community.

A major public consultation exercise has been carried out into proposals to close three of four homes - Meadowcroft Home, in Bowling, Woodward Court, in Allerton, Broad-stones, in Holme Wood, and Greenacres, in Clayton.

Coun Thornton said last week the informal scrutiny committee meeting would be held to look at all the findings from the consultation and a full discussion would be held in the public meeting. That meeting next week is expected to make recommendations which would go to the executive committee for a final decision. However, in view of the heavy workload facing the Council it now seems unlikely the issue will go to the executive before Christmas.

Today Labour Group social services spokesman Dave Green (Odsal) criticised the decision to hold the informal meeting in private but stressed it was allowed in the Council's constitution. But he said: "I think it is the thin edge of the wedge when councillors are meeting behind closed doors to discuss issues which need to be seen to be done democratically."

Maureen Anderson whose mother has respite care at Broadstones, said: "I wish we could have all been there because it is so worrying."