A COUNCIL has offered assurances to residents after it was announced a Meals on Wheels service would be withdrawing from the area.

The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) have taken the decision to stop offering their meal service in Carmarthenshire following a national downturn in demand.

More than 200 residents are visited on 280 days of the year by the Meals on Wheels in Carmarthenshire.

They will instead focus on alternative provisions.

A spokesman for the RVS said: “The service in its current guise will continue until October after which we are hoping to introduce a new model that will enable the charity to spend more time with the meal recipients.

“Over the past ten years the trend has been for many councils to withdraw their funding of this service due to their own budget constraints. In other cases, councils have moved to a commercial provider.

“With so few services now left, it has become harder for the charity to sustain those remaining individual services since much of the infrastructure we used to rely on to support Meals on Wheels has depleted.

“The well-being of the older people we support in Carmarthenshire is our priority and we are working closely with the council and our volunteers to discuss how to best do that.”

Carmarthenshire County Council, who were notified of the plan to stop the service in November, has said it will work hard to minimise the impact on people affected by the withdrawal.

The issue was raised at a full council meeting this morning, where Meals on Wheels was described as “a vital lifeline and a link to the outside world” for the 214 residents who use the service.

Councillor Jane Tremlett, executive board member for health and social care, said: “Particular attention will be paid in the reviews of our most vulnerable users to ensure any replacement service supports the health, well-being and nutritional needs of these older people.

“The council remains committed to working in partnership with RVS and it is important to emphasise that this is not a cost saving exercise, as the funding currently provided will be reused to fund alternative options.”