Less than half of councils still offering meals on wheels
It’s a real tragedy that a Cinderella service like meals on wheels is facing a gradual death. As this story demonstrates it’s a lifeline for many rural dwellers and not something we should quietly let slip into oblivion…
Less than half of the UK’s local authorities offer meals on wheels services to elderly and vulnerable people, according to new research into the impact of cuts on local government.
A quarter of councils have stopped offering the service since 2014, figures published this weekend by the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) have revealed.
The north of England, which has seen the highest cuts to local authorities’ budgets since 2010, is also the worst area for meals on wheels. Just 13% of councils in the north-west provide the service, while 17% in the north-east do.
Meals-on wheels services are seen by campaigners as a crucial way to ensure that vulnerable older people are provided with a hot meal and human contact on a daily basis.
In the east of England and London, nearly one in three councils have cut their meals on wheels services in the last few years, according to the figures. In Yorkshire and the Humber, nearly one in four have.
All councils in Northern Ireland provided meals on wheels services up until 2016, but one in five have stopped doing so in the past two years.
The reductions are caused by the government’s cuts to adult social care budgets, according to NACC. The Local Government Association estimates that adult social care faces a £3.5bn funding gap by 2025.
Neel Radia, NACC chair, said meals on wheels are about more than food provision.
“For many older and vulnerable people, the meals on wheels delivery might be the only friendly face they see from one day to the next,” he said.