A final meeting will be held next week in an attempt to preserve autism services in Moray.
Negotiations took place between the council and representatives from Scottish Autism yesterday in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
However, the talks broke up without any resolution leaving residential care services in Elgin and Lossiemouth still in limbo.
Last night, urgent calls were made to resolve the contractual issues to ease the stress on families who rely on the charity.
Scottish Autism has threatened to pull out of Moray unless it receives money it believes it is due from the council to cover pension and national insurance payments for staff associated with the living wage increase.
Several options have been looked at in an attempt to find an agreement between the two organisations.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “These are clearly very protracted negotiations but I am pleased the council has at least acknowledged the concerns being expressed by families who rely on the valuable services provided by Autism Scotland.
“This remains an anxious time for the families and of course the staff who don’t know what the future holds. It’s important there is a positive outcome for all concerned otherwise there will be a big hole in local autism services leaving many people in the lurch.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross added: “It is of paramount importance that a positive decision is reached at next week’s meeting and I urge those involved to put the needs of the people who depend on Moray’s autism service at the heart of their decision making.”
A Moray Council spokeswoman said: “Officials have described the meeting as productive, but given the importance and complexity of the situation it was agreed to look at a number of options to resolve the issues.
“To this end, a final meeting will be held on Friday April 6 when a decision regarding the future of the service will be reached.
“Both parties are aware of the concern and anxiety this situation is causing for families and are keen to resolve it as soon as possible.”
