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Centrepoint receives two years' worth of government support

Tuesday, 11 February 2025 07:30

Centrepoint is being given an extra £76,000 in government funding for the next two years to keep its child contact centre open.

The money is being used to pay for employee salaries, ensuring the charity can keep helping separated families.

Its Chief Executive warned last month that it was at risk of imminent closure because its government funding expired at the end of 2024.

It received around £80,000 in 2023 to operate the service following the closure of Milli's 

Around 20 families use the service every week as a safe space for parents who don't live with their child or children to see them in a supervised environment.

Deputy Malcolm Ferey, Assistant Minister for Children and Families, said he was 'pleased to have been able to secure funding to ensure the Centrepoint contact centre can continue to operate'.

He confirmed a two-year agreement agreement that he told us would 'stabilise the charity'.

"It will give those people working at Centrepoint a bit more security of continuation of services.

"It's a valuable service for people who are going through some times difficult and challenging times in their lives, whether there are court proceedings involved (or not), and what it does is maintain contact with children and young people and their parents.

However, the government was initially reluctant to share the sum of public money involved.

Deputy Ferey said this is because it is being used to 'in effect' pay for a salary.

"Now, yes, I understand that's public money, but, all I can say is, it's not a huge amount of money.

"It was sourced via the Chief Minister, and what I'm wanting to do long term is to put it on a more stable footing."

 

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