The most vulnerable children in Richmond borough are facing almost £60,000 in cuts to their funding including cash for birthday presents and job-interview clothing.

At a Richmond Council corporate parenting group meeting plans were unveiled to scale back on funding for children in care to bring it in line with that paid by Kingston council.

The cuts will affect children from Richmond borough between the ages of 16 and 17 years old who have been looked after by the local authority for at least 13 weeks, or 13 weeks in total beginning after their 14th birthday, but before their 16th.

Richmond Council defended the move, saying it was developed with families, staff and those affected, and a full consultation was conducted.

It also said Richmond had one of the most generous allowances in London, and the new rates are in line with government guidelines.

However the opposition Liberal Democrat party said the ‘mean spirited’ initiative will have greater long-term costs than the savings it will make up front.

The Lib Dem spokeswoman for children’s services, Suzette Nicholson said: “This is a mean spirited initiative targeting those children who already have had a pretty rough start in life.

“Now we see them turning their attention to cutting the grants which help care leavers equip themselves to find work and feed themselves.

“They’ve even decided to cut their birthday presents.”

“These young people are among the most vulnerable in society, we need to make sure that they’re properly looked after now because if we don’t and they fall between the cracks in society their longer term care costs could dwarf any savings we make now.”

A sum of money given to the children when they leave care will be cut from £2,500 to £2,000, and student support will fall from £80 per student per week to £57.90.

The council will also save £5,000 on carpeting in residential buildings and an £800 saving will be made from the fund for birthday presents. The interview clothing budget, formerly £150 for boys and £100 for girls will be set at £70 for both.

And a £6,250 saving will be made in travel and food, with the council projecting an overall saving of £59,242.

But Councillor Paul Hodgins, the member for children’s services, said: “Children in care are a major priority for this council.

“Due to the rising numbers of children entering the service, we need to ensure that money is being spent at appropriate levels across the service.

“Despite additional growing pressures on council funding, the council is committed to continuing to support children in care, but we need to ensure our expenditure is appropriate across all areas.”