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The Children’s Society may delay its controversial decision to pull-out of Wales, writes Alex Dobson.

There was cautious optimism that the charity will decide to extend its operations until July next year following a meeting in Cardiff on Thursday between a special task group set up by the Welsh Assembly and representatives of the society.

But there was concern that no firm pledges of financial support were made and that the society’s chief executive Ian Sparks had failed to attend, although he had given a commitment to MPs that he would be at the meeting.

When the society announced its shock decision to pull out of the principality last month there was widespread condemnation at the imminent loss of 13 advocacy projects for children and young people and some 120 jobs.

When the Children’s Society ends its work in Wales next year there are now plans to form a shadow organisation that would run until April 2003 when a new charity could come into existence. The task group has decided to ask the Children’s Society if it would be willing to manage the interim period.

Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke, said that it is necessary to find an agency that could manage the interim period successfully.

"My suggestion was that the best placed agency would be the Children’s Society itself, because it holds all the contracts with local authorities, and it also holds all the contracts with the staff, and it has been demonstrably handling all these services already which will help offset any fears that the local authorities might have about a new agency moving in.

"This idea has been adopted by the task group, which is now going to approach the society requesting that they agree in principle to manage the projects from now until March 2003," he said.

Sarah Manners, a spokesperson for the staff group in Wales, said that she felt that the staff group fighting to maintain work in Wales was inching toward its goal. The most important development she said was that the local authorities and the representatives of the Children’s Society that attended the meeting had agreed to continue the work until next summer.

"An independent management consultant brought in by the Children’s Society will put together a business plan that would cover the period from July next year to March 2003. This would continue the work in Wales for the present, but would look forward to the creation of an independent charity in the future.

"The task force is due to meet again in the New Year and the interim plan should be available then. But there has been no commitment by the society to put any money into this process and there are difficult negotiations ahead to try to secure the money that will be needed," she said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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