Social enterprise run by ex-council staff launches JR over axing of grant after just six months

A community interest company (CIC) staffed by former Kent County Council employees is to launch judicial review proceedings over the authority’s decision to terminate its funding after just six months.

Project Salus, the CIC, provides services to children and young people in the county, including in relation to mental health needs, drug education and the prevention of bullying.

The services had been provided by the council under the Kent Safe Schools banner until June 2011.

According to the CIC’s law firm, Pierce Glynn, former council employees were encouraged to leave their jobs and join Project Salus on the back of Kent’s decision to provide the company with a three-year grant.

But in December 2011 Kent announced that it would terminate the grant.

Pierce Glynn partner Gareth Mitchell, Project Salus’ solicitor, said: “These are highly-regarded and critically important front-line services whose loss will impact on some of the most vulnerable children in Kent. The Project Salus directors and staff took Kent’s commitment to support innovative ways of delivering public services at face value and had developed a highly-efficient model of service provision that would have delivered these services for a substantially reduced cost.

“However, only six months into this new venture their funding has been cut without any apparent appreciation of the effects on the children who benefit from the KSS services and on their parents and schools.”

Kent County Council declined to comment.