The leading charity for victims of crime in Scotland has lost touch with the people it is supposed to be working to help, and its head office is chronically dysfunctional, according to a veteran volunteer.
Iain Stuart, who was a volunteer for seven years with Victim Support Scotland (VSS) in Perth said the organisation had become too close to the legal establishment and had a hierarchy which resisted change or criticism.
Mr Stuart, as one of the charity's 650 volunteers, received a long-service award from the charity in 2012 for work with its court service supporting victims and witnesses. However he said he repeatedly raised concerns that members of the public were being kept in the dark and not being given adequate expenses when giving evidence in trials.
However he got the impression he was seen as a trouble-maker, and resigned two years later.
He said. "One of VSS' main roles is to support victims and witnesses in court but they were being left uninformed and in the dark. Their needs were simply not being met."
He spoke out after it was revealed the organisation is in crisis over redundancies and a rift between the board and managers.
Former chair Bob Leitch and his deputy Susan Mallinder resigned last August, forcing the postponement of the charity's AGM, and VSS has been wrestling with a reported £250,000 deficit, partly as a result of opening new Glasgow offices last year.
In a letter to the Herald today, Mr Stuart said he was not surprised the crisis at VSS was now public.
"After seven years as a volunteer with the organisation, I quit last year after becoming hopelessly disenchanted with the way they operate," he said.
"Having recently written to the Justice Secretary suggesting that VSS needed close scrutiny I am delighted that, at long last, there is to be an external review of the charity. I trust it will be intense and far-reaching."
The Government-ordered review of the governance of one of VSS is expected to be completed next month.
However insiders fear that Victim Support Scotland will now miss out on the chance to administer a new support fund for those affected by crime, which will distribute up to £1.2m a year.
Staff at the charity, six of whom currently fact compulsory redundancy, also fear an enhanced support service for the relatives of murder victims, currently under consideration by the Government will be thrown off course by the current turmoil.
On insider said: "This enhanced service for people affected by murder is something which VSS has been campaigning for for years. The Scottish Government has now shown an interest in providing it. If someone other than VSS ends up running it it would be a major blow."
VSS receives more than £4m a year from the Scottish Government. Scottish Labour's Justice spokesman Hugh Henry said assurances were needed about the charity and the new victims fund believed to be on hold while the review is carried out.
He said: "Support for the victims of crime is an essential element of a fair and decent justice system. If there are problems at Victim Support Scotland that could in any way reduce its effectiveness, then the Scottish Government must, as the charity's main funder, take action.
"And if Victim Support Scotland is not in a position to administer the new funds then the Scottish Government must find another route, so vital organisations such as Women's Aid have access to much needed cash."
Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell MSP said: "Organisations like Victim Support Scotland do an incredible amount of good work. It's therefore very worrying to see any threat to jobs and resources. I hope therefore this issue can be resolved as a matter of urgency."
Susan Gallagher, acting CEO of Victim Support Scotland said: "The Scottish Government carries out governance reviews on every organisation it funds which is in receipt of grants of over £100,000 a year. We have known since last autumn this review was planned but unsure of when it would begin. We have just been told that they have chosen KPMG to conduct this review and work will begin on this over the next few weeks.
"VSS accounts for last year, this year and future years are projected to be in surplus."
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