Glenrothes residents federation set to shut up shop after Fife Council funding cut

Glenrothes Area Residents Federation (GARF) was notified in November that it was to have its funding suspended by Fife Council after it claimed the organisation was not meeting service level agreements – it wasn’t supporting any active tenants’ and residents’ associations and are not acting as a tenants federation. The decision to cut £53,000 in funding completely has now been made.

According to board members, that has meant it will now close its food pantry and advice shop in the town’s shopping centre on March 29.

GARF said the axe came in response to the food pantry – a long running initiative it operates from the Kingdom Centre.

Ian said: “It said the foodbank was not what the funding was for. We have to put in quarterly reports that show they were signed off – so why did Fife Council cancel our money to protect public funds when it knew it was running? This is the question we need answered.”

The charity also took part in an investigation conducted by Fife Voluntary Action. The report highlighted areas for improvement, but also criticised Fife Council’s handling of the organisation.

It said: “Whilst Fife Council has stated that the reason for suspending funding support is non-compliance of GARF not following the terms and conditions of the agreement, it is clear that housing services has not carried out its support to GARF as highlighted in the agreement.”

The report also highlighted areas such as officers’ non-attendance at GARF meetings and said: “If Fife Council had been concerned about the non-compliance of any part of the agreement, or had any concerns about the governance of the organisation, this should have been raised at some point with the organisation. There is no evidence this happened at all.”

The report concludes that there is “no reason” to suspend funding while issues are being addressed.

Head of Fife Council’s housing service John Mills confirmed that the housing service is no longer providing funding for GARF, and added: “Following a review of GARF’s activity over the last few months, we’ve taken the decision to cease funding to safeguard public funds. GARFis not currently supporting any active Tenants’ and Residents’ Associations and are not acting as a Tenants Federation. It is therefore in breach of its agreement with the council.

“Our tenant participation team is on hand to help with any tenant’s concerns and can be contacted on [email protected]”

The charity said that it received more than 1000 letters of support from service users in just five days – “that was the footfall coming through, the people we helped,” Ian explained.

In just two quarters, the charity said it has dealt with more than 2500 customers and made 895 deliveries. In addition, it has assisted more than 712 people complete forms – figures, it said, were signed off by Fife Council. Board members said that the charity's phone number and email address will remain open for advice.