Caerphilly meals on wheels service faces price hike

Fees for a “lifeline” Caerphilly meals on wheels service could be raised as part of wider council cost-cutting measures.

Prices could increase by 64% for the majority of Meals Direct users as part of an overhaul of the service, which Caerphilly council has called “financially unsustainable”.

The price rise would likely impact four in five of the 300 people estimated to use the daily service who pay a lower rate with a social services referral.

The local authority said it was the only council in Wales to offer a two-tier price system for its meals on wheels service, and that there was “no legal requirement for local authorities to subsidise food”.

Under the proposals, the council is set to raise the price from £4.18 per day to £6.89 for the 79% of people who have been referred to the scheme by social services.

Those who have joined the scheme at their own or their family’s request already pay a higher £6.89 for a daily main meal and dessert on weekdays.

The subsidised meal service was set to be axed in 2024 as part of wider cost-cutting measures, but plans were scrapped following public backlash.

Backbench councillors voted to save the scheme last September and make it “sustainable over the long-term” following trade union protests outside the council’s headquarters.

One speech in the council chamber from the daughter of a Meals Direct recipient said the scheme was a “lifeline” for users.

Caerphilly council has said it must make millions of pounds in savings over the next three years in order to plug a budget gap, with the service price rise suggested as part of the proposals.

The proposals will be discussed on Tuesday April 22 at a scrutiny committee meeting before cabinet members will likely be asked “to consider removal of the lower rate as the first step towards the service becoming financially sustainable, by ultimately charging the full economic cost of the service”.