Squash chief executive baffled by funding withdrawal

Senior Sports Writer

Monday 17 September 2012

THE head of Scottish Squash has accused sportscotland of undermining their bid to use the Scottish Government's much-trumpeted CashBack for Communities programme to help disadvantaged areas of the country.

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Kevin Ferrie

John Dunlop, the chief executive of Scottish Squash and Racketball (SSRL), says he is hugely excited about the future of his sport, despite it been described by sportscotland officials as having "failed" when he was appointed two years ago.

Dunlop has now been left baffled by the decision to end its CashBack support. The money funded a project which exceeded its targets by 95% but that does not appear to have been taken into account in reaching the decision to withdraw the finances."SSRL far exceeded anyone's expectations in this project, including mine," said Dunlop. "We overperformed beyond my wildest dreams, but the smoke signals from civil servants were confusing as to whether or not there would be continued funding. "However, since sportscotland were never supportive of the CashBack scheme, it seems that when they became party to deciding where future CashBack funds were spent, the days of funding were numbered."Depressingly, the decision not to take forward the existing CashBack projects was taken without even assessing the projects and, while the sports minister is on record as saying we were told about that decision by the Scottish Sport and Wellbeing Unit, we have never been given the rationale behind stopping it."Dunlop believes that, regardless of the lack of backing, a great deal of good has come from those aborted projects. He remains committed to implementing the ideas generated by them, describing it as "one of the drivers that indirectly forced SSRL to review its products".However, Dunlop has called on the government to think again about how it spends CashBack funds. "Much has been written about what type of school you go to deciding your access to sport," he said. "Disposable income and dedicated parents are probably the drivers that dictate access to sport."The CashBack ethos was about creating sporting opportunity for those without funds, disengaged from school, strangers to traditional family structures and to establishment networks. It deserves to be revisited, and quickly."The whole question of how CashBack for Communities funding is being distributed was raised last week in the Scottish Parliament by former sports minister Patricia Ferguson, who asked the government "whether it will ensure that communities most blighted by crime benefit most from the scheme".An answer is expected later this month.Interview. Pages 8-9

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Squash chief executive baffled by funding withdrawal

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