National Trust for Scotland accused of 'shambolic' handling of redundancies

Philip Long OBE, the new Chief Executive at the National Trust for Scotland, said he hoped the Scottish Government would come forward with "vital aid" for the crisis-hit charity. PIC: Contributed. He dropped in to explore the garden at Kellie Castle, Fife, as it prepares to reopen to visitors after months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. St Andrews-based Philip popped in to Pittenweem to see how the dedicated team have been continuing to care for the stunning garden during lockdown. The conservation charity that cares for Scotland’s national and natural treasures is beginning to reopen grounds and gardens across the country from 6 July, as lockdown restrictions ease. Philip Long said: “The National Trust for Scotland cares for so much that is important to Scotland and I am both proud and, on my first day, perhaps a little overawed at my new responsibility!National Trust Scotland

Prospect said that NTS, which has lost £30million due to coronavirus, was pushing ahead with the job cuts when it was not yet clear whether the Scottish Government would give it a financial life line.

A NTS business case which contained the full extent of the financial crisis and a funding request was lodged with the Scottish Government two weeks ago.

No decision has yet been made by Scottish Government on any funding, which is likely to be dependent on some jobs being retained.

Richard Hardy, Prospect’s national secretary for Scotland and Ireland, said a request to further extend the consultation with staff, which ends today (Friday), to take into account the Scottish Government position was declined by NTS.

Mr Hardy said: "If we are to have a proper consultation, we need to know the full scope of the situation. In 30 years of doing this job, I have seen some pretty shambolic consultation processes and this is close to the worst. It feels very much that NTS are simply going through the motions with the consultation.”

Philip Long, the new chief executive of National Trust for Scotland, said he understood the union’s concerns and hoped that “vital aid” would be made available by government.

He added: “But simply put, this is the worst crisis the Trust has ever faced and difficult decisions are inevitable and must be taken as soon as we can if we are to stave off an even worse crisis.

“For that reason our consultation was carried out on the basis that no external funding may be forthcoming and what then would be necessary to save the Trust – if external funding is forthcoming, it would certainly allow us to see the prospect of a faster recovery, but we cannot count on that.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said it was considering the business case put forward by NTS with a meeting with the charity due “shortly” to discuss it.

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