A Scottish court has ordered the closure of a 38-year-old Glaswegian charity that has been under investigation for more than two years.
Last week, Glasgow Sheriff Court ordered the winding-up of the Pollokshields Development Agency (PDA), a charity established in 1987 to develop services promoting the integration and regeneration of its community.
The court’s order follows an ongoing investigation by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), launched in May 2023, “on receipt of information alleging that charity trustees had been removed and new trustees appointed not in accordance with the terms of the constitution”.
Charity unable to pay its debts
On 22 August, Glasgow Sheriff Court appointed David McGinness and Judith Howson of AAB as interim liquidators of PDA, following an order to wind up the charity.
In their notice of court order, the sheriff said the amount of the share capital of PDA “paid up or credited as paid up doesn’t exceed £120,000” and that the charity “is unable to pay its debts”.
After it opened its inquiry, OSCR was also informed that the current trustees had continued to carry on the charity’s activities without access to its funds.
These allegations raised serious concerns about the charity’s assets being at risk, and OSCR decided to undertake further inquiries to ensure the assets were protected and that the trustees were acting in line with their legal duties.
In an interim report, OSCR said that given the seriousness of the situation and risk of harm to PDA, it considered it appropriate to direct the charity not to undertake activities while inquiries were ongoing.
“OSCR also considered it appropriate to direct the charity’s bank not to part with property it was holding on behalf of Pollokshields Development Agency without OSCR’s consent,” it said.
“These directions were issued on 1 June 2023 and were valid for six months.”
According to OSCR’s website, PDA’s financial documents are overdue by eight months. Meanwhile, the charity’s balance sheet shows that its reserves fell from £66,651 in March 2023 to £672 in March 2024.
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