Merthyr Tydfil Council has approved changes to charges for its Lifeline community alarm telecare service, reducing the one-off equipment purchase cost but increasing installation, monitoring, and replacement fees for 2026-27.
Key Changes to Lifeline Charges
At a full council meeting on July 1, councillors agreed to cut the one-off cost for purchasing Lifeline equipment from £195 to £95 per unit for 2026-27. However, the installation charge for customers within the county borough will rise from £25 to £25.85, while for those outside the borough it increases from £45 to £46.50. The replacement charge for a Lifeline pendant will go up from £52 to £53.75, and from October, the weekly monitoring fee will increase from £3.50 to £3.60.
Background and Digital Switchover
Lifeline has been operated by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council for over 30 years, with a fully staffed control room providing 24/7 support via telephone. The service supports independent living through remote monitoring. In February 2024, the council approved a 40% increase in the weekly charge and introduced installation charges for new customers. No increases were made for 2025/26, focusing on customer retention and market share growth.
The UK's telephone network is transitioning from analogue to digital technology, with analogue landlines being withdrawn in January 2027. This requires upgrades to all Lifeline equipment for digital compatibility. The council report stated: 'While this national change is outside council control, the council has a contractual and safeguarding duty to ensure existing Lifeline users experience no interruption to service.' A rollout plan is in place to switch existing customers to digital units by December 2026, accompanied by a communication campaign.
Customer Base and Financial Impact
Existing customers using analogue equipment must purchase digital-compatible Lifeline units. The cost of this switchover contributed to a 25.5% reduction in the Lifeline customer base from March 2023 to May 2026, falling from 2,814 to 2,097. During the same period, users within the county borough increased from 580 to 704, while those outside dropped from 2,234 to 1,393.
The council report noted: 'There is still an active focus on keeping existing customers and increasing market share to improve commercial return.' The charging strategy for 2026-27 aims to remain competitive with alternative digital telecare providers. A procurement process for digital telecare equipment has allowed the council to purchase at reduced unit costs, enabling lower purchase prices for customers.
Any increases to installation, monitoring, and replacement charges were considered in line with CPI inflation and market competitiveness. The expected additional income from the higher weekly monitoring charge is £11,904 per year based on the current customer base. However, the report acknowledged difficulty in accurately forecasting overall income due to uncertain customer behaviour regarding equipment purchases for the digital switchover.
The report emphasised: 'There remains an important balance to be struck between affordability for residents and reasonableness of charging to ensure that the council is making appropriate use of public funds and ultimately protect services that may be unsustainable without appropriate cost recovery mechanisms in place. It is important at this point to note that maximising income should not be the overarching objective for local authorities and that some services will not be able to be fully cost-recovered.'
