Meal on wheels prices in Dudley are set to rise by more than 50 per cent per day to offset falling demand for the service caused by the growing popularity of alternatives such as pre-prepared supermarket food.
From August 18 the price of the meals will increase from £2.55 to £4 per day – an increase of £1.45.
The weekly charge from Monday to Friday will also go up from £12.75 to £20, making Dudley more expensive than any other Black Country authority for meals on wheels.
Dudley Council is blaming the 56 per cent rise on changing eating habits among the housebound and elderly, with more people opting for pre-prepared food from supermarkets and other suppliers.
In July 2007, 568 people received meals on wheels but this fell to 522 in January, this year, and 436 by the beginning of the month.
Council spokesman Phil Parker said:”Council subsidies for transporting meals on wheels have been withdrawn due to the decreasing demand for the service.”
News of the increase has met with concern from pensioners.
Sid Ashby, vice-president of the National Pensioners Convention, said: “It is becoming more and more difficult for us to survive.” The decision to increase the charges will be rubber stamped by Councillor Peter Miller, cabinet member for adult and community services, on Wednesday.
Sandwell charges £3, while the cost in Wolverhampton and Walsall is £2.49.
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7 Comments
Now somebody is making a profit here ! 568 people at £2.55 per meal costs £7242 per week. 436 people @ £2.55 costs £5559 representing a loss of revenue of £1683 per week. The proposed increase will produce a revenue on 436 people of £8720 per week representing a weekly profit of £1478 above the figure that Dudley seemed to feel comfotable with based on 568 old folk in 2007. If the photo in the article is accurate then that meal is available prepacked in most supermarket chains for 99p so I’m not surprised that those who need our support the most are using common sense and moving away from what seems to be a grasping council…. Well Done Dudley or should we rename you Thatchers Boys ??
Looks like even more people will be tempted by ready meals.
Still, i can see the point in increasing the prices. The costs for meals on wheels have gone up a lot in the past year - food, fuel, gas/lecky to cook and so on.
So either its subsidised, or else the people have to be charged the full cost recovery price for providing the service.
With response to Bob’s comments. His comments with regard to profit have no logic. You have to take into consideration how much the ingredients to provide the meals cost, the running costs of the premises for preperation & the transport to deliver them, staff wages for administrators, caterers and drivers. Once all this is taken into account - no profit! Also, the picture shows a supermarket meal, not one from the meals on wheels service.
In response to Duggy No 3. you have failed to see the sarcasm and irony in my comments. The price rises reflect a withdrawl of susbsidy which Dudley was prepared previously, to make for a larger number of recipients. The issues of ingredients, preparation, energy and transport were there previously. Since the numbers are falling maybe some of the cost should be regained by loss of administrators, there are probably a dozen such? Perhaps you are comfortable with such withdrawl of subsidy from the most vulnerable section of our Society. I for one am not !
In response to Bob, you are correct, I did not detect any sarcasm or irony in your comments. It is a shame that the subsidy is being withdrawn, but I guess with falling numbers of users the saying that “if you dont use it, you lose it” applies. Also there are better and cheaper alternatives supplied by the likes of Wiltshire Farm Foods, which is probably why less and less people are opting for meals and wheels.
There is a limit to cutting staff while still maintaining the service needed.
Can cut administrators but if that leaves one person doing the work of several, that person is likely to leave so creating problems.
Don’t forget too - making staff redundant can cost a lot more than keeping them. Getting rid of a load of staff quickly can kill a business in payments.
The majority of drivers delivering the meals are volunteers so there is no cost in paying them. Also, within Dudley there is only one person in each district dealing with the paperwork for meals on wheels. There is a large volume of work involved just to supply a meal (red tape at its best). To cut back on this post (approx £16,000 p.a.) wouldn’t really save the Council a lot of money, not when you think what our superiors earn!