Letters / Openness and transparency are vital
As the totally justified outrage at the closure of the Scalloway Swimming Pool continues unabated, the one question that I think desperately needs answering is this: was the mothership of all our trusts, the Shetland Charitable Trust, asked by the SRT for funding to avert the closure of the pool.
As an aside, the charitable trust reserve has gained around £90 million since April, and currently hovers around the £500 million mark – yes, £500 million.
The reason I feel this question needs to be asked is this: if the charitable trust was asked and the ask was refused, then proper attention needs to be drawn to the charitable trust and the way it operates.
Silence is indeed golden, but the sacred vow of Omerta is easily betrayed.
However, if the SRT did not request funding to close the gap, that presupposes that the SRT had already accepted the closure of the pool as a done deal, its closure being seen as collateral damage, a necessary reduction in the SRT estate and sadly, the best option of what was available, so to speak.
I sincerely hope that this is not the case, but what other conclusion can any impartial observer make?
The old chestnut of “lack of staff” is routinely dragged out to partly justify any lack of service, our own council uses this mantra routinely, but you’ll never notice a shortage of applicants for jobs at Sullom Voe.
So there we have it, openness and transparency are vital cogs in this wheel, but for anything to change and improve, a completely different approach is required, an approach sadly not on the horizon.
Ian Scott
Councillor Central Ward
Scalloway
