Children’s state allowances were withheld to offset outstanding social insurance contributions, the Hope For Children policy centre said on Friday.

However, the social welfare services later announced that arrangements had been made to process the payments and provide the allowances.

“This is unprecedented in the ten years our organisation has been providing shelter and care for children. These allowances are intended solely for the daily basic needs of children under the legal guardianship of the director of social welfare services,” said Hope For Children founder Joseph Borghese.

He warned that while the organisation was working tirelessly to prevent direct harm to the children, the move set a dangerous precedent for child welfare programmes in Cyprus.

The social welfare services told the Cyprus News Agency that arrangements had already been made to rectify the situation and that Hope For Children had been informed.