Kids Company was founded in 1996 and provided support to deprived inner city children in London, Bristol and Liverpool. The charity was funded through private donations as well as grants from government. For at least 10 years Kids Company received funding from central government, including from the Department for Education and the Cabinet Office. In its last set of published accounts, for 2013, 23% of its income came from central and local government. In June 2015 the Cabinet Office’s Permanent Secretary received a Ministerial Direction to award a grant to Kids Company of £3 million, despite his advice that the grant was not likely to be value for money. A grant of £4 million had also been made to the charity for 2015-16. On 5 August 2015, Kids Company closed as insolvent.
This short inquiry examines the funding that Kids Company received from government and management of that funding, and the lessons government can learn in its use of taxpayers’ money to support the third sector.