REVIEWING social service day and community care and the cost of meals on wheels are some of the suggestions being put forward by Ceredigion County Council in its bid to save more than £8.5m.

The council is facing another round of identifying savings and cuts after receiving the second worst council funding deal from the Welsh Government with a cut of 3.4 per cent, with only Powys receiving a worse settlement.

Under a list of saving proposals, the council has outlined that it is planning a “county-wide review of day and community service provision including review of income management and service cost recovery” with a target of finding savings of £540,000.

Other proposals include asking the county’s schools to find savings of almost £1.3m, leaving vacant staffing posts empty in a variety of departments and a “review of front line service standards and associated support” in the highways department.

Despite previous criticism of the authority for increasing the cost of the Meals @ Home service, there is a proposal that a review of the provision, including the cost of the meals, could result in savings of £78,000.

A review of the council’s residential homes, including fees, could lead to savings of more than £700,000.

There could also be changes in leisure centre services across the county with a reconfiguration of the services possibly leading to savings of almost £240,000.

The proposals went before the council’s Cabinet yesterday (Tuesday), but a report into the council’s budget for 2016/17 warned that service cuts will have to be made and that council tax may have to go increase by five per cent again.

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