A taxpayer-funded firm set up by Nicola Sturgeon to help children in care splurged £100,000 on SNP-linked lobbyists.
The Promise Scotland is facing claims it has failed to make “any tangible difference” for disadvantaged youngsters despite handing the huge sum to controversial PR consultants Charlotte Street Partners. The Promise was set up by ministers with a budget of over £1million in 2021 after an official review concluded children in care were being failed.
But its 18-strong staff, headed by £100,000-a-year chief executive Fraser McKinlay, admit they have “no regulatory powers or service delivery function”. Much of their work to date appears to have been setting up a website which boasts a mission to ensure “care experienced children and young people grow up loved, safe, and respected”.
