THE former head of Citizens Advice Scotland has denied claims it was run by a 'Glasgow Mafia' as he spoke for the first time about a damning report into the independent advice network.
Dominic Notarangelo quit as chair of Citizen’s Advice Scotland (CAS) after learning a governance review was to make allegations of bullying, stormy eight-hour board meetings and a lack of adequate skills at Scotland's largest independent advice network.
The organisation which receives £7.5 million a year of taxpayers’ money and represents Scotland’s 61 Citizen’s Advice Bureaux (CABs), provides advice for more than 300,000 people every year from its 2,500 volunteers.
Read more: Reforms at troubled charity will not be blocked, says acting chair
Mr Notarangelo said the report by consultants Deloitte was part of a government attempt to oust him and to strip the charity of its independence, handing it to retired civil servants and local government officials to run.
It also highlighted shouting matches at board meetings lasting up to eight hours but Mr Notorangelo denied meetings were excessively aggressive and added: “That is the Glasgow way of doing things.”
He also denied a “Glasgow mafia” was holding back reform.
It follows reports that he styled himself as 'Il Padrino' (The Godfather) while allegedly colluding with a cabal of CABs he dubbed 'the Glasgow Mafia' to ensure his re-election every three years.
Mr Notorangelo said: “I am not an unfair person
He denied reports that it was well known a “Glasgow mafia” of CAB representatives had quashed reforms at CAS and explained: “People within the association talk about a West of Scotland mafia, but that is offensive. It doesn’t exist.
Read more: Citizen's Advice Scotland promises change as report reveals cliques and mismanagement
“Meetings have tended to be a bit argumentative, but there is something about the West of Scotland and Glasgow in particular, which is ‘let’s have a fight and once we’ve got our jackets off and had it we’ll try and figure out what it was we were fighting about’. That is the Glasgow way of doing things.”
The report said he lacked strategic and leadership qualities and the board he led was driven by cliques and personal interests.
But he said he did not oppose many of the 32 recommendations which have now been accepted in full by the current board of CAS, including an independent chair and a board drawn from a wider pool, half of whom must be outside candidates. At present only three of the 15 member board are external, with decisions dominated by CAB staff and volunteers elected by the 61 CABs.
“I don’t disagree with an independent chair, if that is what the members truly want,” he said. “And it might be time for more external board members. But I think that should come about through consultation not coercion.
“The board will end up being run by retired civil servants and local government officials, in other words a quango. It is a decision for the members, it shouldn’t be foisted on them.”
Read more: Reforms at troubled charity will not be blocked, says acting chair
Mr Notarangelo accepted that there had been cliques and rifts between the board and the senior management team, but blamed the leadership of former chief executives, including Margaret Lynch, who was sacked but is currently taking CAS to a tribunal. “People on the board understood that things were going wrong, “ he said “but the problem was that in a democratic situation Margaret’s supporters’ club just blocked any action.”
He had been told he must go by Deloitte while the report was being written, he claimed, but had chosen to resign in order to allow a proper discussion about the way ahead to take place without distractions. “Sadly it doesn’t seem as if that is going to happen because the government have a gun to people’s heads over funding,” he said.
“I said to civil servants: ‘if that is the way you feel all you had to do was pick up the phone and have a conversation about it’. I think the UK Government wanted me out, and the Scottish Government did too. They started with conclusions and sought the evidence to support them.”
A spokeswoman for Citizen’s Advice Scotland said: “CAS appointed Deloitte to undertake the governance review on the basis of their independent status and expertise in this field. The project was put out to tender and CAS alone selected the successful company.
“The Deloitte report makes 32 recommendations which are based on the feedback received from a range of stakeholders, including CABs, CAS staff and funders, and their professional assessment of best practices across a range of other membership organisations and charities.
“On this basis the recommendations reflect the best governance structure for CAS, its members and the clients they serve.”
The UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, is the sponsoring department responsible for channelling £7.5m to CAS, £4m of it through the Scottish Government. A spokesman for DBEIS said: “The review into the governance of Citizens Advice Scotland was independent.”
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