Bolton Council set to axe its meals on wheels service

MEALS on wheels would no longer be provided by the council under new proposals revealed this week.

Community meals are set to be scrapped as the local authority makes way for private companies to offer their services instead.

Hundreds of people would be affected by the changes which are now undergoing a consultation.

The elderly and infirm who use the service could see their food bills increase by more than a third if the plans go ahead.

The move, which would save the town hall nearly £300,000 per year, comes as the council tries to plug a £23.5m hole in a two-year budget.

It will also lead to at least 10 job losses and cuts of nearly 200 hours of work per week for drivers.

Executive cabinet member for adult service Cllr Andy Morgan said the local authority can no longer afford the “considerable” daily subsidy of the service.

He said: “While the council is proposing to discontinue the service, residents would be fully supported to find an alternative provider to ensure they continue to receive a quality meal delivered to their home every day.

“If necessary, services users will also be given new kitchen appliances so they can store and reheat frozen meals and we will continue to support residents to find community meal providers as part of any wider care assessment.”

How the operation currently works

Bolton is the only local authority in Greater Manchester to still have its own in-house meals on wheels operation, subsidising the cost of each meal.

It will join nearly 90 per cent of councils in the North West which no longer provide the service.

Currently, the council delivers hot meals and puddings at lunchtimes to around 300 people across the borough, each paying £4.59 per meal.

It also delivers 1,000 meals a year to Horwich Tuesday Club, a lunch club for the elderly and people with disabilities. There are three other lunch clubs which also receive 270 meals each week from the council.

The actual cost of a meal is £7.85, which means the local authority subsidises each one by £3.26.

Meanwhile, commercial providers across Greater Manchester charge £6.60 for the same home delivery service and frozen meals can be delivered from as little as £3.

Cllr Morgan said the council could charge service users cost price but, without the discount, it would be more expensive than what private companies offer.

He said: “The market has developed significantly in recent years and service users will be able to choose from a number of local and national providers, each offering a wide range of affordable, high quality menu choices and flexible delivery.”

Financial pressures will lead to job losses

The council department is set to face a reduction in income as a catering contract with Bolton Cares worth more than £300,000 will come to an end later this year.

The council-owned company has served its notice on the agreement to deliver meals to its day care centres as it looks for budget savings of £650,000. An alternative caterer will save the arms-length firm £128,000 per year, according to chief executive John Livesey.

He said: “Bolton Cares is working hard to achieve the savings with minimal impact to the people who use our services.

“Everyone who attends our day care centres will continue to enjoy a good quality two-course hot meal at lunchtime at no extra cost to them. There will also be a wider choice of meals available.”

The cuts will affect 22 drivers and attendants who deliver the meals who will see their hours cut by nearly 200 hours per week.

There will also be job losses equivalent to 12 full-time roles, although some of the staff will transfer to Bolton Cares.

UNISON, the public sector union, was briefed on the changes last week as service users were notified of the proposal in writing.

Andrea Egan, joint secretary of the Bolton branch, said that members’ initial reaction was one of disappointment.

She said: “It’s bad when they are reducing hours. To lose hours is as bad as people being made redundant. The impact is greater on individuals. Members have been quite upset. Their initial reaction was one of upset because of reducing hours. On the back of public sector pay freezes, it’s another blow for our low paid members. All they will get is a small redundancy payment. It’s nothing.”

Consultation gets underway

The meals on wheels service was earmarked for cuts in the last budget set by the previous Labour administration.

Former cabinet member Cllr Nick Peel said that Labour is keen to hear more about how the meals on wheels service will be replaced.

He said: “Once we have all of those details, we will be in a better position to respond to any decision to go ahead with the cuts.”

Lib Dem leader Roger Hayes described cuts to the service as “regrettable” but blamed reductions in government funding and the Bolton Cares contract ending. He added: “We hope that all council staff affected are given the best consideration possible.”

If agreed, the changes would be implemented by January 31, 2020.

Cllr Morgan added: “These proposals will be subject to a full consultation and no final decision will be taken without a thorough assessment of how users and staff will be affected.”

'Another attack on pensioners'

The council’s announcement that its meals on wheels service could be scrapped comes after a series of changes affecting the elderly.

Last week, leaders in Greater Manchester agreed that pensioners will no longer travel for free on trains and trams.

Bus passes will remain free but concessionary travel on other public transport will be charged at a £10 annual fee coming into force around January, 2020.

Later next near, free TV licence fees for over-75s will become means-tested, the BBC announced in June, affecting 3.7m pensioners.

Alan Johnson, secretary of Bolton and District Pensioners Association, said the group would be opposed to the cuts.

He said: “It’s another attack on pensioners and it’s not on. I think it’s another retrograde step. At the end of the day it’s going to cost the people more to receive a meal.

“Theresa May said austerity is coming to an end but it seems with every month that passes by as far as pensioners are concerned, it’s not.”