News / Trust rejects community councils’ comments
SHETLAND Charitable Trust has expressed its surprise at the late reaction from local community councils to the ongoing discussions on how the trust should be run in the future.
On Monday, two days before a crucial trust meeting, the Association of Shetland Community Councils (ASCC) condemned the trust’s reform plans as “seriously flawed”. They also said that the time for public consultation was “ridiculously short”.
Its chairman Jim Gear warned that funding streams to a long list of charitable causes and organisations could be under threat should the trust be dominated by unelected and unaccountable trustees.
Reacting, trust chairman Bill Manson said the requirement to change the set-up of the charitable trust has been discussed in the public for a number of years, and he didn’t understand why community councils did not get involved at an earlier time.
Its chairman Bill Manson said: “I wished the Association of Shetland Community Councils had come sometime during the long period this has been under discussion and talked to us about it to find out what was going on and why.
“Secondly, I don’t think a fortnight of consultation is too short a time to really get your act together and, if necessary, have a meeting,” he said.
Mr Manson added that there was no statutory requirement for the trust to consult on its proposals for change, which go before current trustees on Wednesday afternoon.
He also said that there were no requirements under charity law to have trustees elected, and added that OSCR, the charity regulator, was “distinctively cool” towards elections.
On Monday, the community council association issued a strongly worded statement criticising the trust.
Mr Gear said: “Every intelligent voter in Shetland is aware that when they vote for their SIC councillor, they are also electing a trustee for SCT board of trustees. It is vital that the democratic link is preserved when the board of trustees is reorganised.
“It is essential that all non-SIC trustees are elected democratically for a fixed term by the Shetland people so they are accountable to the Shetland public through the ballot box.
“The new unelected trustees, who will have a majority under the proposed changes to the charitable trust, would have the power to drastically change the policy of SCT.
“Vitally important benefits, such as the pensioners Christmas bonus, the rural care centres, the leisure centres, the Shetland Amenity Trust, Citizens Advice Bureau and most of the voluntary organisations in Shetland, could be under threat from unelected and unaccountable trustees.
“The charitable trust fund is not public money, but money that is held in trust for the Shetland people and the SCT board of trustees is responsible and accountable to the Shetland people for this fund.”
Under new Scottish charity law the trust is forced to remove the dominance of Shetland Islands Council from the trust.
After years of discussions and political manoeuvring, a reform working group is now proposing to reduce the number of trustees from 23 to 15, seven of which are to be SIC councillors with the remaining eight being chosen by a selection committee. (www.shetlandcharitabletrust.co.uk/assets/files/deeds/Governance%20Summary.pdf)
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