Meals on wheels service is to go
Friday 23rd October 2009, 9:46PM BST.
A council-run meals on wheels service for pensioners in Dudley will be axed at the end of the month.
Falling user numbers and rising costs of running the scheme have been blamed for its withdrawal, which has led to five part-time staff being made redundant.
Bosses had originally planned to phase out the service by 2011 but will now stop delivering the hot dinners from November 1.
One critic said it was hitting the people “who should be at the top of the council’s priority list.”
Councillor Malcolm Davis, for St James’s, said: “There are a lot of people who rely on this service as they can’t cope with cooking a meal themselves. I think it is absolutely disgraceful that they going to stop it.”
In July there were around 100 people still receiving meals on wheels, down from more than 450. Meals have increased by 70p to £4.20 .
Councillor Lesley Faulkner for adult social care said: “Due to a lack of demand and a change in customer preference it has made the outdated service expensive to users and heavily subsidised.”
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Heavily subsidised? Not nearly as subsidised as the £38,000 a year Dudley spends on meals for its councillors (on top of their generous allowances). Will that be cut back too, or is it back in the trough?
Report abuse
Dudley Council is cutting services to the elderly and those most in need but has found the money to award the councillors a 25% pay increase!!!!
Report abuse
The ever caring Council covering themselves in glory again.
Well elected you people of Dudley.
There is hope though.
It won’t be long before YOU are the minority within your own country and you all know what benefits the minority receive, so keep smiling and you will benefit.
Report abuse
If you want the council to keep the council tax low you have to accept reduced services. simple maths…….
Pay more get more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report abuse
I have a catering business and would be more than willing to provide a service to the elderly. We serve home cooked food. Should anyone be interested please email me. My business is called Bon Appetit. I am able to keep the cost to £4.20.
Report abuse
again the haves have more at the expense of the have nots,I hope the greedy councilors choke on their food as they are jostling at the trough amongst the other greedy pigs.
The power is in our hands at the next election.
Report abuse
“IN JULY THERE WERE AROUND 100 PEOPLE STILL RECEIVING MEALS ON WHEELS, DOWN FROM MORE THAN 450”
“MEALS HAVE INCREASED BY 70P TO £4.20” well I cant for the life of me understand, why old age pensioners on a fixed income wouldn’t want to pay the £3 -50 increase.
Councillor Lesley Faulkner for adult social care said: “DUE TO A LACK OF DEMAND AND A CHANGE IN CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IT HAS MADE THE OUTDATED SERVICE EXPENSIVE TO USERS AND HEAVILY SUBSIDISED” could it be the same HEAVILY SUBSIDISED scheme that pays for “PART TIME COUNCILLORS” to be provided with, at the council taxpayers expense, lavish pension schemes!!!!!
Obviously providing Councillors with Pension’s has a higher priority than ensuring that pensioners can afford to purchase meals at a reasonable price.
Jim of Bearwood
Report abuse
Keyword says “DUDLEY” again to me ! The weekly disaster pop up is now daily or even several times daily.
To be fair I have heard that things like Wiltshire Foods etc can be actually cheaper than the old meals on wheels.
One of the main problems of Dudley at all levels is overpaid administrators.
These people are too worried about their own perks to remember that the old dears are ordinary people often in considerable financial and medical difficulty.
Nasty feeling of the strong survive and the weak die.That belongs to other eras and elsewhere.And not to the West Midlands in the 21st century.
Report abuse
CHANGE IN CUSTOMER PREFERENCE – you mean to say old folks who could not get out to eat have found another PREFERENCE ? pray do tell everyone what or where it is – we would all like to go there and check it out.Maybe Councillor Lesley Faulkner is also using this place named CUSTOMER PREFERENCE
Wake up Dudley !!!!!!!!!!! & Councillor Lesley Faulkner
Report abuse