Sportscotland intervenes to stop job cuts by Scottish Gymnastics Association

Published on 18/09/2012 18:12

SCOTLAND’s national sports agency has intervened to stop planned job cuts by Scottish Gymnastics Association (SGA) in an ongoing row between the two bodies.

Sportscotland yesterday said it was stepping in to secure the posts of development and high performance staff at the SGA by funding them directly after the gymnastics association made the posts redundant.

The quango, which promotes sport in Scotland, recently stripped SGA of £700,000 in public funding following a scathing report containing claims of mismanagement by the association.

The SGA has refuted the findings, describing them as “wholly misrepresentative and inaccurate”.

Announcing the intervention yesterday, a sportscotland spokesman attacked SGA’s senior management.

“As a repercussion of a highly critical, independent review into SGA and the continued intransigence shown by SGA’s senior management and board, sportscotland has lost all confidence in the current leadership of SGA,” he said. “Consequently, we have withheld public investment in the sport’s governing body.

“SGA has issued redundancy notices to its development and high performance staff, so sportscotland is stepping in to safeguard those posts. We will pay these eight members of staff directly on exactly the same terms and conditions.”

The spokesman said that the quango remained “deeply committed” to gymnastics in Scotland and was exploring options to “invest directly” in the sport.

He added that sportscotland was aware of “the deep discontent” directed towards the board of SGA at a General Meeting of its members held last week, and that it was made clear to the quango that the “consortium of Concern Clubs” no longer considered SGA to have a clear representative mandate.

The spokesman added that no further cash would be allocated to SGA by sportscotland “at this time”.

In the past week two further members of the SGA board have resigned, in addition to the three other recent departures.

The SGA has claimed that it did not learn of sportscotland’s intention to fund the posts until the statement was posted on the quango’s website yesterday, and insisted that the views expressed at the general meeting were not widely held.

Despite the criticism contained in the statement, SGA president Lynne Milne welcomed the move.

“Since this decision to withdraw funding was taken by sportscotland, we have been working very hard with several parties to ensure this funding is reinstated,” she said. “I am very pleased to say that this decision has been overturned and the funding for these posts has been reinstated.”

Ms Milne added that the SGA was attempting to continue in its discussions with sportscotland, but that a meeting with chief executive scheduled due to take place today had been rescheduled.

The sportscotland spokesman said that it would only resume discussions with the association “when our when our confidence in its Board and senior management is restored and they have a clear mandate from gymnastics clubs.”