North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to make a Statement regarding funding for Child Contact Centres before this Assembly dissolves. A Contact Centre is a place where a non-resident parent may have supervised or supported contact with their child or children.
Mr Isherwood is concerned that cutting funding for this service will result in further costs in the future.
Calling for a Welsh Government Statement on the matter in this week’s Business Statement, he said:
“As Relate Cymru state, poorer relationship quality is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes for adults and children, leading to poorer physical and mental health, poorer employment outcomes, and higher levels of negative health behaviours, such as smoking and substance misuse.
“The Minister for Health and Social Services has recognised the impact of proposed funding cuts by CAFCASS Cymru and the impact they’d have on child contact services because of the reduction in CAFCASS Cymru referrals, and there is transition funding for those organisations in receipt of funding previously, who will be provided with an additional one-off transitional sum of £2,000. However, the National Association of Child Contact Centres says, ‘the response misses the fundamental point that we’ve been trying to make, which is the need for contact centres to be funded for the work they do, and will continue to do, for non-CAFCASS referrals’.
“Relate themselves say that, despite fewer families having the opportunity to be supported by CAFCASS, the rate of family breakdown in general has not reduced, and the associated problems remain. Again, this calls for a Statement to this Assembly, so that this Assembly may consider this matter before it dissolves.”
Mr Isherwood added: “Cutting funding for specialist early intervention services supporting families through their relationship breakdown will impact on other services, generating far higher costs further down the road for health, education, social services etc.”