Nacro, the charity that supports ex-offenders, has made 103 staff redundant as a result of various government contracts ending at the close of the financial year on 31 March.

The job losses amount to nearly 8 per cent of Nacro’s 1,350-strong workforce. However, a Nacro spokeswoman said it was “routine, end-of-year stuff” and the charity hoped to be able to create new posts as new contracts were won.

Graham Beech, Nacro’s director of strategic development, said in a statement: “Nacro has faced some reductions by virtue of local and central government cuts and contracts coming to their natural end. Like the other charities we talk to, this has meant that some staff have had to be made redundant. The impact of all this continues to work its way through and, to-date, we have lost around 100 staff.
 
“At the same time, Nacro is also gearing up for the potential opportunities presented to charities in the government’s justice reforms. As a result, we are reviewing our strategies and structures and preparing to grow Nacro for the future as opportunities present themselves.”

The news seems to bear out the findings of recent research by umbrella body Clinks which suggested that 68 per cent of crime reduction organisations have staff on, or imminently facing, precautionary redundancy notices. 

More than three-quarters have had their grant income cut already and 87 per cent expect further cuts in the year ahead.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent reported an increase in the number of people seeking their help and virtually all of those surveyed said they are spending more time on fundraising.