External Review of ASH Scotland 2014

1 Background

1.1 The purpose of this light touch review, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government, was to examine and assess ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Scotland's performance in providing value for money in relation to the grant funding provided by the Scottish Government.^[1] The review had the following objectives:

• Assess ASH Scotland's short and long term strategic planning processes and the organisation's performance in, and contribution to, developing and delivering national tobacco control policy;
• Examine ASH Scotland's performance in providing value for money in relation to the funding provided by the Scottish Government, both to support its core activities and for specific projects/initiatives;
• Assess the effectiveness of ASH Scotland's standing financial instructions and internal and external audit;
• Identify significant strengths which can be built upon and propose approaches for addressing any weaknesses or gaps which have been identified, with cost-effectiveness being a key consideration.

1.2 ASH Scotland is an independent charity which was established in 1973 under the auspices of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and became a separate national organisation in 1993, having had its roots in an earlier UK-wide organisation set up in 1971 by the Royal College of Physicians London, following the publication of two major reports flagging the harm effects of smoking.

1.3 ASH Scotland is funded through a number of different sources, with most of its income coming from the Scottish Government in the form of core funding and grants for specific projects.