NSPCC admits redundancies possible as it closes 18 projects

Children’s charity the NSPCC has published plans to close
a further 16 existing community projects and cancel the development
of two new projects in order to `focus on the work they do best`
and secure full funding for its remaining teams, writes
Lauren Revans.

The proposed cuts are the result of a six-month review of the
activities of NSPCC teams across England, Wales and Northern
Ireland. The charity admits there may be redundancies as a result
of the changes.

“This will enable (the NSPCC) to fully fund all its activities
to protect children, provide a balanced range of services, and
further invest in national services such as the National Child
Protection helpline,” an NSPCC statement issued explained.

If closed, the 18 projects – which range from child
protection teams to family support services – will join a
further 17 projects already set to end, the majority of which are
play groups in Northern Ireland closing in line with the agreed
development of support services. This would bring the total number
of remaining NSPCC projects in the three countries down from 208 to
173.

An NSPCC spokesperson said the new proposals were intended to
align the charity’s activities with its Full Stop campaign to
end cruelty to children, and ensure a “good range and good spread”
of services, while making certain that those left could be fully
funded.

But the British Union of Social Work Employees, which represents
500 of the NSPCC’s 1,500-strong workforce, has described the
proposals as contradictory to the charity’s calls for
improved child protection services, and has demanded to know why a
£9 million surplus from last year was transferred to the
charity’s reserves at a time when services were being
threatened with closure.

“If I thought we were awash with services for children then I
would maybe take a different view,” said BUSWE general secretary
Steve Anslow. “But I can’t see how this will do anything
other than damage services.”

Anslow said BUSWE would draw up their response to the proposals
this week, and hoped to meet with charity representatives soon to
try to stop the 16 closures, plus further job losses in 20 other
projects.

Despite the charity’s commitment to redeploy the 100
workers whose jobs are threatened at the 16 projects, Anslow said
this was “completely unfeasible” in some of the effected areas.

The NSPCC has recognised that “there will inevitably be some
redundancies”.