What I've been working on this month...

October got off to a tough start for TSB after the high-street lender was fined £10.9 million for mistreating its customers.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in one case the bank charged a dead person fees for missing a mortgage payment, while another customer was told not to buy clothes or school meals for their children. The regulator attributed these transgressions, which took place between June 2014 and March 2020, to a systematic lack of training and procedural controls.

“TSB’s woeful systems and controls exposed its customers to risk of harm and meant it missed opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing,” FCA director of enforcement Therese Chambers said. “While it did take action, it took us instigating a review before it acted effectively to address all the issues.”

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October also brought a fresh crisis in the arts sector as the Summerhall venue in Edinburgh was hit with a winding-up order from the government over an alleged failure to pay corporation tax.

The arts village – which is comprised of the old Dick Veterinary School and two adjacent Brutalist buildings – is owned by Oesselmann Estates Limited, the family trust of Robert McDowell. Mr McDowell is also the director of Summerhall Management, which acts as the commercial liaison between the building’s owner and its tenants.

Summerhall Management says no tax is due and is defending the proceedings. The venue continues to trade, though there has been an impact on its ability to stage and host certain events.

Financial education charity Young Enterprise Scotland announced on October 24 that it was seeking emergency funding after losing its grant from the Scottish Government, putting the organisation at risk of closure with the loss of up to 31 jobs.

YE Scotland said the government failed to “follow through on funding assurances” after what it claimed was last-minute notification in July that the grant process would cease and be replaced by a competitive tender through the Entrepreneurial Education Fund. The government maintains the charity was told as early as 2022 that this year’s funding would be allocated on a competitive basis, and funding commitments to YE Scotland expired in March of this year with no further commitments given.

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YE Scotland chair Andy Campbell said: “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 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.”

However, Kate Forbes MSP, Deputy First Minister, later said: “I have approved the requested £285,000 to run into this year the two programmes that were previously funded by the Scottish Government. That will cover expenditure to date for the financial year from April 2024 to March 2025. Young Enterprise Scotland has confirmed that will ensure the organisation’s on-going viability.”

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Elsewhere, Royal Dornoch has joined the growing list of premier golf destinations in Scotland looking to expand their course offering following the six-figure acquisition of 50 acres of linksland.

The club closed the deal more than a decade after one of its members, architect Tom Mackenzie, identified land beyond the 10th hole of the Struie Course as ideal for development. General manager Neil Hampton said the purchase is an “exciting milestone” for the club, which will be hosting the 2028 Curtis Cup.

The deal comes as work progresses on Royal Dornoch’s new £13.5m clubhouse which is due for a “soft opening” on an unspecified date next year. This development has been financed with a £5m funding package from the Royal Bank of Scotland, with the remainder coming from the club’s financial reserves.