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A local authority is set to end its meals on wheels service – and help organise for prison-made food delivered by a social enterprise to fill the gap.

The Vale of Glamorgan council ’s cabinet is today due to discuss a recommendation to cease providing the service in a bid to save tens of thousands of pounds.

The recommendation will be discussed at the meeting – which will also consider proposals to spend about £30,000 providing each of the 47 councillors elected after May’s elections with tablet computers.

The authority says that move would also represent a saving, with councillors instead being told to read agendas and reports electronically rather than them being printed off.

The measures come in the wake of continued efforts by Welsh councils to make savings in the face of pressures on their budgets.

According to papers prepared ahead of the meeting the meals on wheels service – which currently supports 77 customers – last year cost almost four times more than its budget, resulting in an overspend of £37,500.

Four options for the future of the service were considered, including one to make it cost-neutral by almost doubling the cost of a meal from £4.60 to £8.99 – and another to do likewise by doubling the number of service users.

But the preferred option is to cease the service completely and the authority says it has been in touch with Bridgend-based The Food Shed to deliver meals made at HM Prison Parc to the Vale .

A main meal and dessert from The Food Shed costs £4.75 – 15p more than the price of current meals on wheels service. In 2012 a main and dessert cost £2.50.

“From initial discussions with The Food Shed this organisation is keen to extend its current operation into all areas of the Vale of Glamorgan and currently has capacity to do so,” the council report explains.

And it adds: “In the Vale of Glamorgan, the number of people who use the meals on wheels service has decreased in recent years. The service currently delivers approximately 45 meals each weekday. This is a significant reduction from the average of 112 meals per day which were provided in 2012.”

A consultation with the five council staff members employed in meals on wheels would be carried out if cabinet approves the recommendation.

Bronwen Brooks, council cabinet member for housing and social care and health, insisted people were increasingly choosing to use alternative suppliers who could provide more flexibility and choice.

And she said the move would mean spending on more critical areas of adult social care could be protected.

“Although residents have to pay for the meals they receive the meals on wheels service runs at a financial loss and so is a significant cost for the council’s social services department – around £50,000 each year,” she said.

“What we are now proposing is that we direct those customers that are still using the council-run service to some of the alternatives on offer and cease providing it ourselves.

“A new social enterprise has emerged which will deliver a freshly-prepared hot meal. For people who opt to use this new provider it will mean they will continue to get a hot meal although it will be delivered by someone else.

“Arguably this will be an improvement upon the service we provide as it can operate every day of the week, is open to anyone who wants it, and is freshly prepared.”

On the electronic tablets, council leader Neil Moore added: “In order for elected councillors to undertake their duties and effectively scrutinise decision making across the council they must be provided with copies of minutes and agendas for every cabinet, committee, and council meeting that takes place.

“The cost of printing hard copies of minutes and agendas which often run to hundreds of pages each week for all 47 councillors is a very significant one.

“What we are proposing is to minimise this cost by moving to a paperless system. All minutes and agendas are currently available online and elected members would in future be requested to access them in this way.”