Junior UHA withdraws LCC funding request

THE JUNIOR Up Helly Aa committee has withdrawn its application for funding from Lerwick Community Council (LCC) after receiving “offers of financial assistance from elsewhere”.

Last month the community council deferred a decision on whether to approve a small grant until the Junior UHA provided a copy of its policy on equal opportunities. 

The voluntary Lerwick festival had been seeking the sum of £82.12 to cover the cost of renting ground for the “Peerie Galley Shed”. 

In previous years LCC had paid out the grant, but following a wider debate about the involvement of women in the town Up Helly Aa ahead of January’s event, LCC member Andy Carter was last month reported as saying he wanted to encourage the junior version to adopt a “more progressive attitude” on the issue.

In response, the Junior UHA committee enclosed a copy of its equal opportunities policy, which secretary Ian Spence wrote was “for a boys only group and must be read within that context”.

Its constitution states that “membership of the organisation shall be open to boys over the age of 10”.

The policy states that it aims to “ensure no helper or young person receives less favourable treatment on grounds of age, disability, race, nationality, marital status, and sexual orientation, and class, political or religious relief [sic]”.

It also states that the committee will ensure all those involved “promote equality and do not participate in negative discrimination” and “do not incite or attempt to incite others to practice direct or indirect discrimination”.

However Spence’s letter explained that, since making the application to LCC, “we’ve received offers of financial assistance from elsewhere and therefore feel we no longer need to pursue the grant and wish to withdraw our application”.

He added that the committee wished to thank the community council for its past support towards the Junior Up Helly Aa.