The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sir Iain to be boss at anti-poverty group
Aformer Police Scotland chief constable and Raith Rovers footballer is joining a £25 million Scottish antipoverty initiative.
Sir Iain Livingstone has been announced as the new chairman of the Multibank project and will be joined by new chief executive Kirsty Thomson, who is leaving her role as chief executive of Dundee social enterprise The Circle.
First established in Fife, Multibanks allow businesses to donate unused goods to families in need, including food, soap, bedding, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet rolls, nappies and cleaning materials.
The donated goods come directly from nearly 90 companies across the UK, led by Amazon, which alone is planning to donate 1.4 million items this year.
The project was set up in 2022 by Pauline Buchan, strategic manager of Kirkcaldy-based Cottage Family Centre, and former prime minister Gordon Brown.
It has been formed out of the Cottage Family Centre and the Big House project based in Lochgelly, which is the registered name of the Scottish Multibank charity.
Now, the new leadership team is setting a target of giving 2.5 million household goods a year to people in need across the country in what would make it one of Scotland’s biggest charities.
As well as the original scheme running out of Lochgelly, projects to support families have also been established in Wigan and Swansea.
Furthermore, the project has announced that warehouses will also be opened in Dundee, Perthshire and Edinburgh.
Sir Iain was knighted in 2022 for his services to the community and was Scotland’s chief constable from 2018 to 2023, leading the organisation through the Covid pandemic and death of Queen Elizabeth.
He was born and raised in Dunfermline, played football for Raith Rovers and practised as a solicitor before joining the police.
In October 2023, Sir Iain accepted a request to be the officer in overall command of Operation Kenova, an investigation into matters associated with the Troubles in Northern Ireland. He had previously sat as a member of Operation Kenova’s independent steering group and its governance board.
Sir Iain said: “As a police officer for over 30 years, I saw at first hand the devastating effect of poverty in communities and in particular for children and young people.
“To achieve fairer and safer communities we must tackle poverty. It’s a priority for both social justice and social cohesion.”
Ms Thomson founded The Circle in 2015 to offer flexible fair rent offices and work spaces to Dundee charities, social enterprises and community groups.
Organisations based at Dudhope Castle include Uppertunity, Barnardo’s and Cornerstone.
They moved to the castle in 2022.
The organisation also provides training and volunteering opportunities to help employability and offers a consultancy service for business planning, fundraising and training.
She will now oversee operations at the Multibank project.
Ms Thomson said: “I am deeply honoured and excited to join the Big House SCIO as its new CEO.
“The dedication and passion of this organisation is inspiring, and I am committed to furthering our impact and driving meaningful change for those in need.”