Campaigner appeals against council’s decision to withdraw Melksham’s funding

PRESIDENT of the Melksham Seniors, Brian Warwick, is appealing to Wiltshire Council to rethink their decision to not reinvest money saved by closing the lunch club at the Assembly Hall back into the town.

In the last issue of Melksham News, Brian called for the former lunch club’s budget of £117,000 (calculated from figures provided by Wiltshire Council for the financial year 2017/18) to be ringfenced for Melksham and be used to provide services for vulnerable older people to help support them and reduce pressures on local health services.

But Wiltshire Council has said that the money will not be used solely for Melksham. Their spokesperson said, “We have to focus our budget on the provision of frontline services and the money saved from the lunch service will go towards helping the council achieve its overall savings target. Our hope is that a local group or organisation can run their own similar service that is sustainable for the community.”

In response Brian told Melksham News, “I appreciate the need of the council to identify resources that can be best invested to help to meet the shortages of funding from central government. However, the council had already over the years identified the need to invest a reasonable amount of funding to ensure vulnerable older people in the community obtain a regular, hot nutritious meal. We must not withdraw that facility and not provide an alternative facility during this cold spell.

“I readily agree that the extremely high cost of staffing the luncheon club cannot be maintained on the low figures using the services. However, I believe we need to ensure that with any savings we need to be far more proactive by ensuring that not only no vulnerable older person is put at risk, we also endeavour to ensure more of our vulnerable citizens in need are identified. 

“Therefore it was my desire to ensure that an agreed realistic proportion of the present funding should be allocated to target all those at risk. Certainly, working with volunteers to keep the cost low and effective, but go even further to ensure more older people obtain a hot lunch.

“Many users of the present luncheon club could afford to use the excellent services provided already in the community, but we as a community could also do more.

“I believed discussions could have been held with many of those cafes, restaurants and other providers to agree a series of seniors’ nutritious meals at affordable prices, also helping those businesses to obtain a smaller but fair return. With an opportunity for discreet lunch vouchers to be made available to support many of our pensioners who are living close to the poverty trap, many of whom are known to the council and care organisations, the cost of those vouchers coming from the very substantial saving of the luncheon club, but at a far lower percentage figure. That way, the council still makes substantial savings, but we endeavour to target those in need.

“With warnings of a series of extremely cold spells forecast we must be far more bold and effective  by ensuring none of our citizens are at unnecessary risk. There may be far more dynamic projects forthcoming as we act in closer unity to resolve a pressing problem.

“We need to act now and I believe we have the opportunity to tackle this need from the savings already identified, so I plead to the council to think outside the box and ensure those vulnerable members of our community are more readily identified and helped, ensuring the savings made are targeted and used effectively. Any other realistic suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps there is also an opportunity for our parish and town council to be actively involved.”