The acting chair of Citizen's Advice Scotland has rejected claims that a damning review of the way it is run will be brushed under the carpet.
Agnes Robson said a major shake up of who sits on CAS's board and the appointment of an independent chair would be backed by members later this year. "The report is based on what people told Deloitte, so I hope it will satisfy their concerns and they will support the findings," she said.
As staff and volunteers at Scotland's 61 Citizen's Advice Bureaux (CABs) digested the findings of an independent review designed to restore faith in the troubled organisation, insiders warned reforms could yet be sabotaged.
The governance review carried out by Deloitte said the former chair, Dominic Notoroangelo, who resigned ahead of the report's publication, was not up to the job, and said too many trustees were CAB managers or board members, leaving charity with too narrow a skill range at the top.
It found that board meetings were overlong, badly managed and stormy, with allegations of bullying, and there had been a collapse in trust between the board and its senior management team.
The report made 32 recommendations, which CAS's board has accepted in full, but some have cast doubt on the ability of the existing group to see the changes through, after previous reviews failed to resolve problems at the charity.
All CABs are voting members of CAS, and can therefore veto the plans which will be put to the membership by November this year.
Acting chair Agnes Robson said the board would consult with member CABs about changes to the association's rules to ensure support with the support of 75 per cent needed at a general meeting to ensure they go through.
She said she expected bureaux to back changes to rules and policy later this year. "We have taken the brave step by publishing these conclusions and I now want to get the organisation to a position where we can implement them," she added.
However former CAS treasurer Stephen Brown quit in February after raising concerns over a lack of transparency regarding the use of public funds by CAS. He said the existing board should all resign. "I feel vindicated," he said. "But the board had this report a month ago and none of them are resigning. Why not? They have brought CAS to its knees in Scotland".
The report itself reflected similar concerns. It said: "Following the Board’s failure to effect substantive change following the previous governance reviews, stakeholders have little confidence that the current Board will be able to correct the present situation."
John Wilkes, a former external trustee of CAS, who is also chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council agreed with the report's findings. "The report well describes what I experienced over two years as external trustee," he said. However he said it would be better to retain the current board.
CAS receives approximately half of its £7.5m funding from the Scottish Government and half from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. A BEIS spokesperson said both governments would work together to insist on change. He said: “BEIS was very concerned by the issues raised in Deloitte’s report. Citizens Advice Scotland has committed to instil robust governance and financial controls, and we have agreed to review their progress and continue funding only on the basis that these changes are made."
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