South Gloucestershire services face budget axe
South Gloucestershire Council are holding a public consultation on their draft budget
Meals on wheels, pest control and the much-loved HandyVan household repairs service face the axe under South Gloucestershire Council’s budget plans.
The authority says that although they are highly valued by residents, council taxpayers are subsidising all three and the organisation is not legally required to provide them.
As part of the 2026/27 draft budget consultation, the council is asking for people’s views as it considers options to either make the services cover their own costs or stop providing them completely.
The consultation said: “Through our budget-setting process, we have looked at all possible options before cutting services.
“We are in a relatively financially stable position, but this has only been possible because we have taken difficult decisions early.
“Therefore, given the cost pressures and uncertainties around our future funding, we think we will need to continue this approach of planning ahead and make some cuts over coming months and years.
“Our community meals service is currently losing more than £125,000 per year – or approximately £2.20 for every meal we deliver.
“These losses have increased markedly in recent years when the price people pay for their meals has been frozen at a heavily discounted rate during a period when our main costs (food, energy and wages) have risen sharply.
“We cannot continue to use the money local people pay in council tax to subsidise meals.
“We therefore intend to increase the amount people to pay to help offset some of these losses.”
The council said it would consider options to stop subsidising the HandyVan service, which provides plumbing, carpentry, flooring, bathroom and kitchen adaptations, painting and decorating, fencing, and even flat-pack furniture building, and offers discounted rates to over-60s and people with disabilities, as well as working in schools.
The consultation said: “Due to financial pressures, the council needs to focus on services it is legally required to provide and those that support the most vulnerable people, such as children in difficult situations, older adults, and disabled people who need social care.
“While the HandyVan service is valued by customers, it does not meet these criteria and consistently does not cover its costs.
“Therefore, the council is exploring options to stop subsidising the HandyVan service and use the money saved to support essential services for local people.
“However, the occupational therapy service will still be available to help people make home adjustments so they can live independently.”
It added: “The council’s pest control service has many happy customers.
“However, this is not a service which the council must provide and there are companies in the private sector who offer a good value alternative.
“Despite the best efforts of the service it has not been possible to make sufficient financial return, so we need to consider future options.”
Other cost-cutting measures include cutting funding to town and parish councils for public toilets and parks.
The consultation said: “Due to historical differences in our district with some areas being parished (having a town or parish council) and some not, at the current time some towns and parishes in South Gloucestershire receive more funding than others for local services such as parks and public toilets.
“Now that all of our district is parished we want to ensure that the funding approach for these services is consistent across the district and are funded solely through the parish precepts charged by individual town and parish councils.”
South Gloucestershire Council is also reviewing services it delivers to local schools on a commercial basis, many of which are losing money.