YE Scotland seeks emergency funding to avoid closure

Its financial education spans primary schools, secondary schools and colleges, and includes the SCQF Level 6 Higher qualification in entrepreneurship. Last year, YE Scotland supported more than 18,000 students through its enterprise programmes.

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“We are absolutely devastated that the future of Young Enterprise Scotland now seems untenable with the loss of our major income source," chief executive Emma Soanes said.

“Not only will this have a huge detrimental impact on our dedicated staff team, who now face redundancy, but given our extensive reach across Scotland it will also impact massively on the national education landscape and the education of young people in Scotland of which our work played such a crucial role.

“Failing to support this crucial stage of the entrepreneurial pipeline is entirely at odds with strategic priorities reflected in the Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation and the key recommendations of the Entrepreneurial Campus report.”

The charity says that its grant from the Scottish Government was "significantly delayed" in the last two financial years, particularly so in the most recent year which resulted in the late submission of its audited accounts. This "directly impacted its ability to apply for additional funding".

YE Scotland said it "supported the Scottish Government during their funding delays by continuing to deliver vital services in good faith" and was only informed in July of this year that the grant process would cease with immediate effect to be replaced by a competitive process, the Entrepreneurial Education Fund. This opened in August with "no consideration" given to work already undertaken by YE Scotland for the start of the current academic year.

However, a spokesman for the Scottish Government said the charity was told as early as 2022 that this year's funding would be allocated on a competitive basis. The government maintains that funding commitments to YE Scotland expired in March of this year and no further commitments were made. 

“This year’s round of funding through the Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund is being awarded on a competitive basis for the first time," the government spokesman said. "This is in alignment with wider entrepreneurial funding.

“All applications were assessed fairly against the criteria of the fund.

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“The Scottish Government is currently in discussions with Young Enterprise Scotland.”

Andy Campbell, the chair of YE Scotland and founder of the Scottish Space Network, said the charity is "ready to engage with ministers and officers" and is "hopeful that our past support will be reciprocated".

“For over 30 years, Young Enterprise has delivered life-changing opportunities for young people in Scotland, myself included," he said in a statement.

"We understand that government budgets can face challenges and delays, particularly in the current climate. As a committed partner, the charity has historically supported the government’s delays in funding, continuing delivery to ensure our young people’s futures are not impacted.

“Historically, these delays were always addressed, with costs settled and accompanied by thanks and apologies. However, despite this constructive commitment, it now appears that future funding is to be withdrawn — which we can manage, albeit as a vastly smaller organisation and not delivering the vast majority of our current activity.

“However, critically it now seems that our historical outlays will remain unsettled putting the entire organisation at risk of closure. Without emergency funding, the charity will be in a precarious situation, one that could have been avoided."