Closure of Glasgow East Women's Aid charity: FOI release

Information requested

1. Please provide a list of all grants paid to Glasgow East Women's Aid (GEWA) by the Scottish Government between January 2019 and February 2024. Please provide data for each year separately.

2. Please provide copies of any reports or other documents produced by the Board of Directors of GEWA to explain the permanent closure of the charity on 29 February 2024 and its subsequent liquidation.

3.

i) When and how did the Scottish Government become aware of the closure and liquidation?

ii) Did the Government receive any complaints about the charity before and after the closure/liquidation?

iii) Did the Government take any action to prevent the closure? Please provide the details of the investigations that happened (if any).

4. Please confirm whether an investigation has been launched into GEWA's bankruptcy. If yes, please provide the details.

5. Could you please provide copies of any or all emails and other correspondence between the Scottish Government and GEWA relating to the charity's closure and/or subsequent liquidation?

6. Please provide the specific details of the support offered by the Scottish Government to GEWA employees and beneficiaries of the charity's service in the Greater Easterhouse area after the charity's closure, including any financial, emotional, or practical support.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested in the format you asked for.

The answers to your questions are as follows:

Q1. Please provide a list of all grants paid to Glasgow East Women’s Aid (GEWA) by the Scottish Government between January 2019 and February 2024. Please provide data for each year separately.

Some of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government website www.gov.scot. Where this is the case, links to this information have been provided below. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper or digital copy. 

The following provides details of grant funding, including those administered through fund managers, between January 2019 and February 2024:

Equally Safe (Violence Against Women and Girls) Fund (ESVAWGF) – Administered by Inspiring Scotland

• 2017-2021 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/vawg-fund-2017-2020/
• Further details of can be found on the Inspiring Scotland website: www.inspiringscotland.org.uk

Equality Grant - Direct

• Manager Post – grant part of ESVAWGF - Grant issued October 2018 (paid March 2019) - £25,000

100 Days Funding - Direct

Since October 2021 Scottish Woman's Aid has been allocated £2,856,184.65 as part of the Covid Emergency Fund which was distributed to their affiliated Woman's Aid network to deal with increased demand for support from women and children affected by domestic abuse. Information as to the allocation to each Woman's Aid group will be held by Scottish Woman's Aid.

Delivering Equally Safe (DES) Fund – Administered by Inspiring Scotland

• YEAR 1 (extended) - 1 Oct 2021 to 31 Mar 2023 - £230,729.26
• YEAR 2 - 1 Apr 2023 to 31 Mar 2024 - £153,819.50
• Further details of can be found on the Inspiring Scotland website: www.inspiringscotland.org.uk

Grassroots Fund - Administered by Corra Foundation

• 31/03/2021 - £48,062
• Further details of can be found on the CORRA Foundation website: www.corra.scot

Improvement Fund (National Drugs Mission Funds) - Administered by CORRA Foundation

• 31/03/2021 - £292,641
• Further details of can be found on the CORRA Foundation website: www.corra.scot

Q2. Please provide copies of any reports or other documents produced by the Board of Directors of GEWA to explain the permanent closure of the charity on 29 February 2024 and its subsequent liquidation.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for. GEWA was an independent charitable organisation and the GEWA Board held this information.

Q3.
i) When and how did the Scottish Government become aware of the closure and liquidation?

Inspiring Scotland, DES fund managers, notified the Scottish Government on 27th February 2024 that GEWA were appointing liquidators, and that staff would be notified on 29th February 2024. Inspiring Scotland informed the Scottish Government on 18th April 2024 that an interim liquidator had been appointed on 10th April 2024.

The Corra Foundation, National Drugs Mission (NDM) fund managers, notified the Scottish Government on 14th February 2024 of the potential closure of GEWA. The Corra Foundation notified the Scottish Government on 28th February 2024 with confirmation that GEWA were appointing liquidators, and that staff would be issued with redundancy notices on 29th February 2024.

Q3.
ii) Did the Government receive any complaints about the charity before and after the closure/liquidation?

The Scottish Government did not receive any complaints about the charity before and after the closure/liquidation. There were, however, communications received from David Linden MP, Neil Gray MSP, Unite the Union, and a member of the public raising concerns about staffing issues at GEWA.

Q3.
iii) Did the Government take any action to prevent the closure? Please provide the details of the investigations that happened (if any).

The Scottish Government did not take any action to prevent the closure of GEWA. The Scottish Government does not interfere with the decisions of the Board of an independent charitable organisation.

Q4. Please confirm whether an investigation has been launched into GEWA’s bankruptcy. If yes, please provide the details.

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Government has not carried out or arranged for an investigation into GEWA’s closure and/or subsequent liquidation (not bankruptcy).

Q5. Could you please provide copies of any or all emails and other correspondence between the Scottish Government and GEWA relating to the charity’s closure and/or subsequent liquidation?

The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because there has been no direct contact between the Scottish Government and GEWA relating to the charity’s closure and/or subsequent liquidation.

Q6. Please provide the specific details of the support offered by the Scottish Government to GEWA employees and beneficiaries of the charity’s service in the Greater Easterhouse area after the charity’s closure, including any financial, emotional, or practical support.

There has been no direct support offered by the Scottish Government to GEWA employees and beneficiaries of the charity’s service in the Greater Easterhouse area after the charity’s closure.

Through our fund managers, Inspiring Scotland, the Scottish Government is working with other funders to ensure that funding allocated to GEWA will be redistributed to similar local services. This is to ensure that service need continues to be met in the Greater Easterhouse area.

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