The SNP has been accused of funnelling taxpayers’ cash into propping up Stonewall despite the charity apparently scrapping its Scottish operation.
The Scottish government has been urged to explain why it is continuing to back the LGBT organisation with rising six-figure annual grants, after public-facing Scottish activity dwindled to next to nothing and key posts went unfilled.
The charity says it has merged all individual roles into a more senior head of nations role and still has a senior staff member overseeing work across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The SNP-run government has handed over more than £400,000 to Stonewall since 2022, under a funding arrangement to run a programme aimed at “advancing LGBTQ+ equality in Scotland”.
Under a binding contractual agreement, the cash was earmarked to help fund staffing costs for the equivalent of 3.75 full-time jobs.
However, despite Stonewall advertising for a Scotland director more than a year ago, the post appears not to have been filled permanently and it is not clear that it any longer has any dedicated staff north of the border.
Lucy Hunter Blackburn, a former senior Scottish government civil servant who was previously responsible for funding external organisations, said it appeared Stonewall Scotland had become a “shell company” and that it was unclear why funding was continuing.
“Stonewall’s dedicated Scottish staffing appears to have dwindled to nothing,” Hunter Blackburn said. “Stonewall Scotland’s social media accounts have been dormant for months and the programme Scottish government funding is meant to support appears at first sight to have had little Scottish activity for some time.”
The Scottish government has agreed to continue funding Stonewall into the next calendar year. Funding from the Scottish, as well as the Welsh governments, has become increasingly vital to Stonewall as other governments, both in the UK and overseas, cut back on grants.
According to its most recent accounts, the devolved administrations now account for about half of Stonewall’s overall government funding, excluding lottery cash.
It was claimed in February that Stonewall could be forced to cut up to half its 114 staff as a result of funding cuts ordered by President Trump. The Global Equality Fund, administered by the US state department, has given the organisation more than £500,000 during the past three years, before the president ordered a halt to the spending.
The Scottish government’s funding for Stonewall comes on top of its significant backing for other LGBT groups, including almost £500,000 for LGBT Youth Scotland and £600,000 for the Equality Network.
The organisations have been vocal in support of controversial SNP policies, such as Nicola Sturgeon’s gender self-ID bill, which was blocked by the UK government, and a proposed Scottish ban on conversion therapy, shelved by John Swinney last year.
Separately, the Scottish government has also paid Stonewall to run training schemes and for membership of its controversial diversity champions membership scheme.
Several high-profile organisations, including the BBC, the Scottish parliament, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Police Scotland and the Cabinet Office have pulled out of the diversity champions scheme over recent years. However, the Scottish government has remained committed to the programme.
“Scots will ask serious questions as to why the SNP is squandering so much taxpayers’ money still funding this organisation that has been mired in controversy,” Tess White, equalities spokeswoman for the Scottish Tories, said.
“Various public bodies including the Scottish parliament itself as well as the BBC have pulled out of Stonewall-led schemes in recent years due to their hardline stance on gender self-ID.
“With the SNP still wedded to their gender policy, many will wonder if this money is being continued to shore up Stonewall’s support for this agenda.
“Ministers must finally do the right thing and ditch their gender obsession as well as stopping giving a six-figure sum to an organisation that doesn’t appear to be active in Scotland.”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “We are committed to supporting LGBTQI+ people, including through funding for Stonewall to advance equality for this group.
“This is particularly important at a time when we are seeing a rise in attacks against the LGBTQI+ community.”
A Stonewall Scotland spokesman said: “As we see an increasing roll-back of hard-won rights globally, the work to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality has never been more important. Stonewall remains committed to improving LGBTQ+ rights across the four nations, including Scotland.
“Stonewall has worked in partnership with other LGBTQ+ organisations and partners in Scotland for 25 years and we continue to do so. We support a significant number of workplaces in Scotland on their inclusion journey and have a proud record of supporting the Scottish government on their policy and legislative ambitions. We hope that the introduction of a UK-wide fully inclusive conversion practices bill for all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people will be forthcoming in the next month.”
