Portsmouth's meals on wheels fiasco could finally be at an end after Age UK takes over the service

Age UK Portsmouth has been commissioned by Portsmouth City Council to take over its meals on wheels service following the embarrassing failure of an attempted pub-run scheme launched earlier this year.

In a bid to improve the service – which is a vital lifeline for hundreds of pensioners in the city – the new contract has also extended delivery time windows to give drivers more time to check on meal recipients and increase the amount of support they can offer.

'I was highly impressed with what I saw on my visit to Age UK Portsmouth,' the council's cabinet member for social care Matthew Winnington said following a visit to its kitchens last month. 'Our new service is designed to provide more than just food, but also to prevent loneliness and offer social contact and support for service users.'

The service was operated by Apetito until the end of March after the council rejected its request to hike meal prices from £5.50 to £8.

Instead it contracted the Duke of Buckingham but a series of issues saw the arrangement ended in less than a week.

A council spokesman said they had been ‘let down’ by the business and said they had ‘significant concerns’ that the pub would ‘not be able to deliver the quality of service that we expect’.

But pub managers hit back, saying the council had ‘royally messed up’ having been warned it did not have the capacity to cover the city beyond Southsea.

As an interim measure, the council worked with Somerstown Central Community Hub and Radis Community Care to continue the service for the 160 people it supports until the new provider was found.

Age UK Portsmouth chief executive Dianne Sherlock said the charity was fully-prepared, having started running the service last month.

'Age UK Portsmouth are absolutely delighted to have taken on the serious responsibility of delivering meals on wheels,' she said. 'For our kitchen/cafe team to be able to offer a service that complements Age UK Portsmouth’s existing home, gardening and financial support services is an honour and we intend, over time, to grow our meals on wheels capacity.'