In a letter sent to partnerships on 13 February, Anne Weinstock, director of the supporting children and young people group at the Department for Education and Skills, said the budget for 2004/2005 would be 160m, a cut of 5 per cent compared with the 15 per cent announced at the end of last month (News, 12 February).
But allocations for 2005/2006 would not be decided until the summer to give the Government time to discuss the matter with partnerships, the letter said.
'Final decisions on that year will not, therefore, be taken until we have discussed with you how best to handle the situation and until we know the result of the 2004 spending review. Our aim will be to give you a firm planning basis for that and future years.'
This appears to suggest that the Children's Fund may continue after 2006 when the Government's current funding commitment ends.
Other concessions include 'a small contingency fund' to be made available to partnerships for 'exceptional circumstances' and flexibility for programmes to carry forward money they have not spent into the next financial year, from 2003/2004 into 2004/2005 and from 2004/2005 into 2005/2006.
Leading charities were relieved that the cuts forecast for 2004/2005 were no longer going ahead, but remained concerned about the fund's future.
Chris Hanvey, Barnardo's UK director of operations, said, 'The last-minute reprieve will allow us to defer planned cuts, but we won't know the effect of the reduced funding until the regional allocations for next year are received. Nor can we be certain of the future for services if the 2005/2006 cuts go ahead.'
He said uncertainty over funding was putting great pressure on staff and services and had undermined the trust between Government and the voluntary sector.
'This issue calls into question how the Government can deliver the vision it sets out in Every Child Matters, when it is willing to jeopardise programmes that can make a difference to disadvantaged children,' Mr Hanvey said.
NCH's interim chief executive, Maurice Rumbold, said the charity was still concerned about funding allocations for 2005/ 2006 and wanted to discuss this with the Government as soon as possible, as well as the fund's future after March 2006.
'It is vital that the good preventative work the Children's Fund has allowed to happen with five- to 13-year-olds continues after this time,' Mr Rumbold said.