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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

OSCR orders bank to freeze charity’s assets

This news post is over 4 years old
 

Watchdog says it is concerned with the way the award-winning charity is being run

Scotland’s charity regulator has ordered a bank to prevent the sale of a Paisley-based social enterprise’s assets.

Aspire Community Solutions, a multi-trade facilities business, is facing an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) over concerns about financial controls and how it is being run.

The award-winning firm, run by Jordan McPhail, says it is “committed to reinvesting profits for social purposes” on its website.

However OSCR says its inquiries have uncovered “misconduct in its administration” after trustees failed to provide information to the regulator following formal requests.

Aspire’s latest annual report was 192 days overdue although it now appears that McPhail has created a construction business called MCP Contracting which was registered with Companies House on 17 June this year.

Aspire’s Facebook page and website have been taken down.

A statement from OSCR said: “Inquiries into the charity have given us concern surrounding both the governance and financial controls within the charity.

“Based on the information we have obtained throughout the course of our inquiry, which rains ongoing, we are concerned that there has been misconduct in the administration of the charity and consider it necessary and desirable to take protective action in respect of the charity’s property.

“We have therefore issued a formal direction to the charity’s bank preventing it from parting with any property without OSCR’s consent.”

Aspire secured £30,000 funding in 2017 from Social Investment Scotland which was used to buy a van.

The charity took on a number of contracts with other charities and social enterprises including Ferguslie Park Housing Association who awarded the social firm a contract in April this year to carry out grounds maintenance and grass cutting to tenant’s gardens.

OSCR’s direction is valid for six months.

 

Comments

0 0
Eileen Ure
over 4 years ago
Hopefully this situation will be a cautionary warning to other charities who are perhaps considering the route McPhail has went done. It is imperative that the public have trust in charities in Scotland.
0 0
Scott Clark
over 4 years ago
I hope he is paying back the £30,000 pounds of public money he received.
0 0
Joseph Dark
over 4 years ago
I think they had trouble even mopping out a close.
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