BUNGLING council officers have been forced to apologise after they forgot to tell a vital youth support service its funding was being cut.

Staff at Reading Children and Voluntary Youth Service (RCYVS) found out they were losing their core £28,000 funding through a public council report.

The grant is being slashed from the council's spending as the authority looks to save millions of pounds by 2020.

Stunned employees then confronted the local authority to demand an explanation as to why they were not told.

They also had to point out to the authority that they have a contract until October, therefore the council cannot stop its payments this month as planned.

Ben Cross, business development manager, admitted RCYVS's future is up in the air.

He said: "We have 140 members organisations which support families in Reading.

"The cut was bought to our attention by people telling us to look at the papers."

Mr Cross, who has worked at RCYVS for more than 10 years, said he understood the pressure the council faces regarding his budget.

He warned however that cutting RCYVS' budget could have consequences.

"It's rude to start with because they didn't tell us but also it just doesn't make sense," he continued.

"The council made a commitment to work with the voluntary sector.

"The charity is secure at this stage and the organisation will continue but what it delivers will be proportional."

RCYVS works with scores of children's charities and organisations across the town. They provide funding, safe guarding training and other key services.

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said the group should have been warned about the funding cut.

They added: "The council has contacted RCYVS to apologise for not alerting them to the proposed saving before it was made public.

“We fully acknowledge the hard work and dedication of RCVYS and its staff in supporting children, young people and families in the town, but the extent of the savings required mean the council has to prioritise limited funding to the statutory services.

“RCVYS were informed in April that their contract would be extended until the end of October this year. That remains the case. We apologise for the typo in the report which wrongly states the proposed saving would come into effect in July, which understandably caused additional concern."