This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/05/childrens-charity-kids-company-close-financial-concerns
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Kids Company: Camila Batmanghelidjh's charity to close amid financial concerns | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Kids Company, the London youth work charity, is said to have told ministers it will be shutting its services on Wednesday evening in the light of new concerns about its financial management. | Kids Company, the London youth work charity, is said to have told ministers it will be shutting its services on Wednesday evening in the light of new concerns about its financial management. |
| The charity, which received £3m in a government rescue package a week ago, used part of its government grant to pay overdue staff wages, a move reportedly against the conditions of the funding. Kids Company is said to have told ministers that it will now have to close its services for vulnerable youngsters, according to a report on BBC Newsnight. | The charity, which received £3m in a government rescue package a week ago, used part of its government grant to pay overdue staff wages, a move reportedly against the conditions of the funding. Kids Company is said to have told ministers that it will now have to close its services for vulnerable youngsters, according to a report on BBC Newsnight. |
| Related: How did Kids Company get so far away from those it was meant to help? | |
| Kids Company told Newsnight that it had indeed used some of the grant to pay staff wages. But it also said speculation about its closure was “both dangerous and irresponsible and places the children we support at great risk”. | Kids Company told Newsnight that it had indeed used some of the grant to pay staff wages. But it also said speculation about its closure was “both dangerous and irresponsible and places the children we support at great risk”. |
| Last week, the charity’s chief executive Camila Batmanghelidjh was forced to stand aside in return for the Cabinet Office funding. Ministers are now said to be investigating whether the money can be recovered, because conditions attached to the grant were not met. | Last week, the charity’s chief executive Camila Batmanghelidjh was forced to stand aside in return for the Cabinet Office funding. Ministers are now said to be investigating whether the money can be recovered, because conditions attached to the grant were not met. |
| The Cabinet Office has refused to confirm or deny the reports but local authorities, government officials and other charities are reported to have been briefed on Tuesday afternoon about the potential closure of the charity, which supports thousands of children. | The Cabinet Office has refused to confirm or deny the reports but local authorities, government officials and other charities are reported to have been briefed on Tuesday afternoon about the potential closure of the charity, which supports thousands of children. |
| In a joint investigation, Newsnight and BuzzFeed reported on a leaked cache of emails that appears to show that the charity used a substantial portion of its grant from the government to pay staff wages, though it was apparently intended to be used for restructuring and not day-to-day running costs. It is understood staff wages were two days overdue. | In a joint investigation, Newsnight and BuzzFeed reported on a leaked cache of emails that appears to show that the charity used a substantial portion of its grant from the government to pay staff wages, though it was apparently intended to be used for restructuring and not day-to-day running costs. It is understood staff wages were two days overdue. |
| It is not known whether Kids Company were aware that the Cabinet Office might object to the funding being used to pay wages. Around £800,000 was used from the grant in order to pay staff, it was reported. | It is not known whether Kids Company were aware that the Cabinet Office might object to the funding being used to pay wages. Around £800,000 was used from the grant in order to pay staff, it was reported. |
| “Everything has been agreed, we are going ahead with payroll. It will be done ... as soon as the money hits our account,” Batmanghelidjh wrote in an email to staff, according to the BBC. “I am so sorry that the machinery of Whitehall was slower than we would have liked.” | “Everything has been agreed, we are going ahead with payroll. It will be done ... as soon as the money hits our account,” Batmanghelidjh wrote in an email to staff, according to the BBC. “I am so sorry that the machinery of Whitehall was slower than we would have liked.” |
| Separately, police are currently investigating claims that criminal activity, including sexual abuses and the dissemination of indecent images, was rife on its premises, with Kids Company staff alleged to be involved in some cases. | Separately, police are currently investigating claims that criminal activity, including sexual abuses and the dissemination of indecent images, was rife on its premises, with Kids Company staff alleged to be involved in some cases. |
| After police visited the charity’s south London headquarters last week, Batmanghelidjh said she had “a deep sense of shock and sadness ... having just found out that there are a number of allegations made against Kids Company”. | After police visited the charity’s south London headquarters last week, Batmanghelidjh said she had “a deep sense of shock and sadness ... having just found out that there are a number of allegations made against Kids Company”. |
| “In the last 19 years there have been no child protection rulings that have found us falling short of safeguarding the people in our care,” she said in a statement on the charity’s website. “If we had been aware of sexual assaults taking place on our premises we would have reported these to the police and the local safeguarding board. | “In the last 19 years there have been no child protection rulings that have found us falling short of safeguarding the people in our care,” she said in a statement on the charity’s website. “If we had been aware of sexual assaults taking place on our premises we would have reported these to the police and the local safeguarding board. |
| “So you can understand that I am taken aback by allegations which now present themselves, about which I knew nothing.” | “So you can understand that I am taken aback by allegations which now present themselves, about which I knew nothing.” |
| Kids Company, set up by the charismatic Batmanghelidjh in 1996, was known to have the firm support of David Cameron for its work on gang violence and disadvantaged children. | Kids Company, set up by the charismatic Batmanghelidjh in 1996, was known to have the firm support of David Cameron for its work on gang violence and disadvantaged children. |
| But the charity has been beset by financial turmoil following the announcement that the government would not give it its annual £5m grant this year, though it later negotiated a one-off £3m payment, what was called a “transforming and downsizing plan” after Batmanghelidjh said she would resign. | But the charity has been beset by financial turmoil following the announcement that the government would not give it its annual £5m grant this year, though it later negotiated a one-off £3m payment, what was called a “transforming and downsizing plan” after Batmanghelidjh said she would resign. |
| The Cabinet Office’s top official Richard Heaton expressed doubts in June about the £3m funding, and wrote to minsters Oliver Letwin and Matthew Hancock seeking a ministerial direction, because although he recognised the “good work” of the charity, he was concerned the grant “does not represent value for money, in terms of delivering the outcomes for which the department is funded by parliament”. | The Cabinet Office’s top official Richard Heaton expressed doubts in June about the £3m funding, and wrote to minsters Oliver Letwin and Matthew Hancock seeking a ministerial direction, because although he recognised the “good work” of the charity, he was concerned the grant “does not represent value for money, in terms of delivering the outcomes for which the department is funded by parliament”. |
| The ministers said in their reply they believed he should go ahead with the grant, because they judged the charity to have a “realistic prospect of long-term viability so it can continue to deliver for vulnerable young people”. | The ministers said in their reply they believed he should go ahead with the grant, because they judged the charity to have a “realistic prospect of long-term viability so it can continue to deliver for vulnerable young people”. |