STAFF at a charity aimed at helping people with autism have been made redundant following the closure of children's homes.

Following a damning Ofsted report, homes run by Autism Wessex were closed at Christmas affecting 11 young people between the ages of 13 and 19 living at small homes - two of which were at the charity's Portfield School at Parley Lane.

Since the homes' closures eight members of staff have been made redundant.

Paul Moore, interim CEO of Autism Wessex, said: “We did not underestimate the significance of the decision to close the children’s homes. As well as impacting on the young people who resided in the homes, their families, our staff and commissioners, the resolution to close the children’s homes had considerable financial implications for the charity.

"As a result, a restructure was deemed appropriate for dealing with the specific challenges we faced at that time and this process began in September 2016. The restructure included the necessity for a charity-wide review with an objective of identifying internal cost-cutting measures, which regrettably led to eight staff being made redundant. Of these eight, six were based within the children’s homes and two were from central service functions based at our head offices.

“Out of the redundancies made as a result of the closure of the children’s homes, every effort was made to retain the staff in the organisation," Mr Moore said. "This process included identifying if any other available position in the company may be an alternative. Each available position had an accompanying job description and salary suitable to the job responsibilities and hours required to carry out that role."

Mr Moore said that, as a result of the financial savings made, its service users will not be affected by cuts.

He said: “It is always regrettable to be in the position to have to make staff redundancies in any business. Strategies were put into place to minimise the impact on our staffing levels and every possible measure was taken to retain the staff affected to minimise the impact on our loyal, skilled and professional workforce.

"The charity continues to employ over 400 staff across its services in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. As a result of cost reductions achieved by the restructure, the charity now faces a positive future of growth.”