Investing in Communities Fund and Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust (Kosdt): FOI release

Information requested

1. Did the ICF receive a request for a change of project, if so, we would like to see the request including evidence of the date the request was made and based on what evidence from the community this was evidenced as needed.

2. Did the Kosdt request a change to staffing requirements? If so, we would like to see the dated evidence.

3. Did the Kosdt inform you of the existing physical activities available to the community at the time of any change request? If so, we would like to see the dated evidence.

4. Did the Kosdt in the event of a fund change advise that this would displace another local project? if so, we would like to see that dated evidence.

5. In the application the Kosdt lists examples of classes they were running; gentle exercise, yoga, dance classes, badminton, and walk & talk. Did you make it a condition of their funding that they provide more than this? if so, could you please provide evidence from the funding conditions.

6. Does the ICF programme and therefore the Scottish Government support displacement of other community groups and private businesses (in a tough climate for both) through its funding. The costs associated with the Kosdt running this new aspect of the Kyle feeds project are significant sums from the funding they got from ICF. £9,000 salary plus hall hires plus the purchase of new equipment, additional training, and possibly sessional staff annually.

7. The Hub Board request a copy of the completed scoring matrix (or the equivalent named document) from the assessment of the Kosdt application to the ICF fund.

8. The Hub board would like the names and positions of all individuals who sat on the decision-making panel of the ICF fund round in question.

Response

I enclose a copy of the information you requested along with responses to your questions below.

1. Did the ICF receive a request for a change of project, if so, we would like to see the request including evidence of the date the request was made and based on what evidence from the community this was evidenced as needed.

No change of project request was received. A weekly Physical Activity Programme was detailed in the Project Delivery Activities in their original application.

2. Did the Kosdt request a change to staffing requirements? If so, we would like to see the dated evidence.

A change of staffing requirements request was made on 31st March 2023 to change the sessional staff to a permanent member of staff with the title part-time Project Activity Assistant. At this time they were reviewing this aspect of the project and they were prompted to consult with the community to ensure their needs were met. The email is attached.

3. Did the Kosdt inform you of the existing physical activities available to the community at the time of any change request? If so, we would like to see the dated evidence.

No information of existing physical activities in the community was received or requested at the time the staffing change was requested. As noted above the project were prompted to consult with the community to determine the need for any changes considered as part of the review of activities.

4. Did the Kosdt in the event of a fund change advise that this would displace another local project? if so, we would like to see that dated evidence.

There was no change to the project or the amount of funding provided and no indication received that this would displace another local project.

5. In the application the Kosdt lists examples of classes they were running; gentle exercise, yoga, dance classes, badminton, and walk & talk. Did you make it a condition of their funding that they provide more than this? if so, could you please provide evidence from the funding conditions.

The funding conditions did not request that more activities were provided. It would not be for Scottish Government to dictate what activities should be delivered, this should be decided by the organisation in consultation with the community.

6. Does the ICF programme and therefore the Scottish Government support displacement of other community groups and private businesses (in a tough climate for both) through its funding. The costs associated with the Kosdt running this new aspect of the Kyle feeds project are significant sums from the funding they got from ICF. £9,000 salary plus hall hires plus the purchase of new equipment, additional training, and possibly sessional staff annually.

Scottish Government in delivering the ICF Fund does not knowingly support displacement of other community groups or businesses. Each applicant was requested to make the case for their project and provide the evidence of need in their application. As described in the fund’s guidance additional local intelligence was sought which did not flag any issues relating to potential displacement or lack of need. The KoSDT project includes a broader range of activities to support people across a number of communities in the area, of which the physical activity element was one part. The inclusion of costs for hall hires was considered appropriate given the model to deliver services in different venues locally across the area.

7. The Hub Board request a copy of the completed scoring matrix (or the equivalent named document) from the assessment of the Kosdt application to the ICF fund.

The scoring matrix for the Kosdt application to the ICF Fund is attached along with the scoring matrix for The Kyle of Sutherland Hub to allow a comparison to be made.

8. The Hub board would like the names and positions of all individuals who sat on the decision-making panel of the ICF fund round in question.

The panel members details are as below:

Organisation	Attended	Position
National Lottery Community Fund	Roddy Byers	Head of Funding (Scotland)
South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE)	Kate Musgrave	Head of Enterprising Communities
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)	Nicola Ewing Margaret McSporran	Head of Client Products and Services Head of Social Enterprise Development
Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEiS)	Martin Avila	Chief Executive Officer
Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC)	David Allan	Deputy Director
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)	Barbara Love	ESF Technical Officer
Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS)	Pauline Smith	Chief Executive Officer
Scotland’s Regeneration Forum (SURF)	Euan Leitch	Chief Executive Officer
CORRA	Allan Farmer	Head of Place
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)	Calum Lindsay	Policy Manager – Place and Just Transition
Scottish Government	David Cowan Chair	Head of Regeneration Unit

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FOI 202300384250 - Information Released - Annex

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