Charity given public money pays director’s company £1.1m
A PUBLICLY funded charity has paid more than £1million to a company linked to one of its directors.
Young Scot Enterprise (YSE) is at the forefront of promoting Scottish Government youth policy and is heavily reliant on taxpayers’ cash.
But the Scottish Daily Mail can reveal that for the past ten years it has been handing money to Edinburgh-based IT company Storm ID.
Since 2007, the charity has paid the firm £1,142,370 for ‘website and media services’.
Businessman Simon Wall is on the boards of the charity and firm – and owns a third of the shares in Storm ID.
There is no suggestion the conflict of interest has been concealed or that there has been any wrongdoing. But last night there were calls for an investigation into YSE’s spending. Scottish Tory Chief Whip John Lamont said: ‘When public funds are given to charities people would rightly expect that money to be spent on helping society.
‘Instead we see this charity spending over £1million with a single IT company. Questions need to be asked about why so much money was spent and why this firm was chosen.’
YSE is ‘the national youth information and citizenship charity’, aiming to offer those aged 11 to 26 ‘information, ideas and incentives to help them become confident, informed and active citizens’.
Set up in 1999, it works with all 32 local councils. It provides the Young Scot branding for the Scottish Government’s National Entitlement Card and echoes many of its policies, including the controversial Named Person scheme and maintaining ties with the European Union.
The Scottish Government has given the charity £3.29million over the past decade, with a string of other public sector bodies topping up its annual income – typically £2.2million.
Mr Wall, 54, joined YSE’s board in 2003, two years after setting up Storm ID with two colleagues. In 2007/8, the char- ity made its first payment to the firm – £107,606 – and more followed each year, totalling £1,142,370. They are declared in YSE’s annual accounts as ‘related party transactions’ and have varied in size from £35,000 to £205,000.
Eben Wilson, director of economic policy think-tank the Centre for Democratic Prosperity, said: ‘Where charities are funded by the taxpayer, we need a review of the rules on how contracts are ten ‘Following dered, awarded and paid for, and weaknesses addressed.
‘Within the third sector, there is a also a problem with sock-puppetry, where charities end up being paid by government to, in effect, echo their master’s voice.
‘As a result, the raison d’etre of some charities becomes tailored to what will attract the most funding and this is where public money can be wasted.’
A YSE spokesman said: on from early-stage investment to build a worldclass digital platform to support Scotland’s young people, since 2012 Young Scot has invested an average of £75,000 a year through Storm ID to develop, host and support our digital services.
‘Simon Wall is only one of a number of digital experts who sit on the Young Scot Board.
‘We follow governance best practice and guidelines and in any decisions about services or contracts relating to, or that could relate to, the work of Storm ID, Simon has recused himself.
‘All contracts with Young Scot are independently audited and assessed each year and we have had a clean audit every year.’
Storm ID declined to comment.
A major investigation by the Scottish Daily Mail this year uncovered overlapping interests between the Government and the third sector, with millions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash changing hands annually in pursuit of SNP policies.
‘Questions need to be asked’ ‘Need a review of the rules’