Changes to the meals on wheels service in Rhondda Cynon Taf will see the price of a meal increased. Changes approved on Monday, January 23 by the council cabinet will see the price of a meal increase 50p from £4.05 to £4.55 and will require fewer members of staff to deliver the service.
The changes will see the council save an estimated £427,000 per year and will see the service reorganised with increased service charges and a reduction in the council subsidy per meal.
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, which consulted on the plan, considered four options for the future of the service. Option one was to continue the service as it currently operates with increased charges for people who use it, thus reducing the subsidy per meal. Option two was to reorganise the existing internal service with increased service charges, thus reducing the subsidy per meal.
Option three, the preferred option, was to reorganise the existing internal service and provide a hot or frozen community meal home delivery service with increased service charges, thus reducing the subsidy per meal. Option four was to stop the current service and help people who use the service find other options.
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A council report set out the benefits of option three which it said allowed the council to retain an affordable community meals service which was competitive in price, maintained social contact with service users and offered delivery of either a hot or frozen meal. It said that, in comparison, four Welsh local authorities provided a similar community meals service to option three, whereby meals were bought in and “regenerated” and the price per meal (two courses) ranged from £4.50 to £5.15.
It said a further 15 Welsh councils did not provide a community meals service and, in some instances, people were directed to an external provider that provided a frozen meal delivery service only where a typical price per meal (two courses) was more than £5. Its proposal would see hot meals continue to be delivered by community meals staff to people’s homes from Monday to Friday between 11.30am and 2pm.
It said the daily visit would provide social interaction and a welfare check which would reduce the impact of loneliness for some people who had no family or where family were unable to help, therefore “providing peace of mind and reassurance.” Help will also be provided for plating the meal where needed.
The report said: “Continuation of the service will enable and empower service users to remain supported in their own home, maintaining their independence and providing a balanced diet. Dietary and allergen needs will continue to be met. Additional flexibility will be offered with the choice of having a frozen meal delivered, which can be heated at a time most suitable to the service user. People who use the service and their carer(s) will receive letters notifying them of the change and there will be information on the council’s website."
In the consultation, 67.8% of respondents disagreed with the preferred option but the level of disagreement was higher for people who used the service than members of the public. The report said there was general disagreement with the option due to reasons such as the cost-of-living crisis, vulnerability and isolation of service users and a frozen meal having to be cooked rather than a pre-cooked meal being served, and that there were mixed views on the price increase.
Those who disagreed said the price increase was not value for money, nor was it too much of an increase, given the current cost-of-living crisis, but several people felt that the increase was reasonable, especially if it helped maintain the service. There was concern about the frozen meals and whether some people would be able to heat them up themselves and if family members would have to step in to help, but the council said the option did offer a hot meal and that no-one would have to heat up their own meals unless they chose a frozen meal.
The report said the meals were currently distributed to service users in their homes by 28 delivery staff using 14 vehicles. “Once a preferred option is decided upon, and demand for the service is established, the service will undertake a robust review of delivery rounds to ensure that the routes are the most efficient and cost-effective with the aim of reducing fuel costs and our carbon emissions.”
The report said the council was "facing significant financial challenges into the medium term and is considering the remodelling of key service areas to contribute to addressing the shortfall in funding.” It also said the aim of the proposal was to continue to provide a revised community meals service to ensure the availability of a hot meal to support vulnerable residents in RCT.
Cabinet member Councillor Rhys Lewis said the backdrop to this was the challenging financial position that the council finds itself in. He said that delivering the service as it currently is with increasing costs and falling numbers of people using it was “challenging.”
Cllr Lewis said it was the right time to review the service and that RCT was one of only a few Welsh councils to offer this service. He said he believed option three was “the best way forward to make the service as sustainable as possible moving forward.” He added that: “I fear that if we don’t act at this current time in future years the service may become unviable.” He said it was a very important service to many and that the council “should do what we can to try and retain the service.”
Cllr Lewis said he believed the 50p increase was still modest and compared favourably to other providers with a £1.73 council subsidy per meal. He said hot meals would continue and that frozen meals gave people flexibility over when they eat their meal, adding that the welfare checks were very important.
He said: “This administration is committed to avoiding compulsory redundancies” and added that options will be sought with staff to redeploy to other areas like school kitchens. He added that this was "the most sustainable way of maintaining the service going forward."
Council leader Councillor Andrew Morgan said it was a non statutory service which the council had protected through the years of austerity since he had been leader. But he said the budget gap was around 1.5 times what it was during the worst years of austerity this year.
Cllr Morgan said it was clear that welfare checks are important and that it was more than just delivering a meal. He said keeping a service in-house of sorts was “absolutely imperative” and that the 50p increase might seem a bit of a jump but that one of their neighbouring authorities charges £6. He added that the council "have worked to avoid compulsory redundancies so far” given the budget situation and that he would “be keen to avoid compulsory redundancies in this service area as well.”
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