Kids Company children ‘will be supported’

Up to 600 children in Bristol whose needs were met by folded charity Kids Company will be given alternative support, city mayor George Ferguson promised.

The young people’s charity, which works out of six centres in Bristol, closed its doors for the last time on Wednesday, leaving vulnerable children “abandoned”, according to its high-profile CEO Camila Batmanghelidjh.

Staff in Bristol were also left out in the cold, with some claiming they had only heard of the closure through the media.

Ferguson said on Wednesday evening that “nothing is more important than the safety and support of vulnerable young people” in Bristol.

He added: “I am making sure that organisations and services across the city are working closely together to provide all appropriate support, prioritising any young people who Kids Company tell us they have concerns about.”

The city council had a contract with Kids Company to provide youth services, but it was due to expire this month.

Kids Company provides educational, emotional and social support to vulnerable young people out of six centres in some of the most deprived parts of Bristol, including in Hartcliffe, Lawrence Weston, Brentry and Redcliffe.

It also had a drop-in centre at the The Island on Nelson Street – employing 18 full-time staff – where it ran the Bristol Urban Academy, providing extra educational provision for people aged between 15-23.

Staff in the city criticised their “shambolic treatment” after hearing through the media that they would be losing their jobs.

Employee Claire Cole told ITV West: “There were no warnings whatsoever from Kids Company that today would be our last day. That is shocking.

“I have got 14 years redundancy but have been told today I won’t be getting a penny.”

Frances Harniman, a finance officer at the chairty in Bristol, said: “The feeling is one of shock and anger, not just for the way the staff have been treated but the sense of despair about what’s going to happen to the children.”

Director of services for the charity in Bristol, Esther Keller, who resigned from Bristol City Counil to take up her role, told the BBC she blames the government for a lack of funding.

“There are hundreds of children in Bristol who are going to be without services we provide,” she said.

“Who is going to feed them? They will go hungry and what happens to them? They will probably turn to crime. They will probably have to nick their food from somewhere.

“I blame central government and politicians, because actually what they are doing is hiding behind charities.

“What they are not actually saying is that the lack of funding to statutory services has left children and young people in a very, very, vulnerable state.”

Kids Company was closed amid allegations of financial mismanagement and an investigation by Scotland Yard’s child abuse, sex offences and exploitation unit.

The charity was given a £3 million grant from Government just two weeks ago after Batmanghelidjh agreed to step down.

But part of the money was allegedly spent on paying staff. Ministers are now said to making plans to recover the grant.

Batmanghelidjh said on Thursday that the charity had been used as “a football for the media and the civil servants”.

She added: “Our problem is not the efficiency of our financial systems, it’s our lack of funding.”