Turning Point Scotland Statement: City Property Glasgow Investments (CPGI) Dilapidations Claim

Turning Point Scotland has a long history of delivering vital social care services across Scotland. For more than 20 years, we operated the 218 Service – a nationally recognised, gender-specific service supporting women in the justice system. The service was delivered under contract with Glasgow City Council and funded accordingly.

A fundamental question remains about the legitimacy of imposing any dilapidations charge on a building owned and supplied by a local authority, particularly when all funding provided by that authority – and more – was used entirely for its intended purpose.

Turning Point Scotland disputes the initial £805,322 dilapidations claim issued by City Property Glasgow (Investments) LLP (CPGI) concerning 218 Bath Street, formerly the 218 women’s justice service. Following review, the bill has been reduced to approximately £690,000. While we welcome this reduction, the scale of both figures remains wholly disproportionate. The initial £805,322 claim illustrates the severity of the financial pressures facing the sector and even the revised figure places an exceptionally heavy and unreasonable burden on charitable services at a time when resources are already stretched.

This claim is not just about Turning Point Scotland; it has wider implications for the social care sector. Applying strict commercial standards to not-for-profit service providers risks undermining essential support for vulnerable people across Glasgow, including those experiencing homelessness, alcohol and other drug-related challenges and justice involvement. Every pound diverted to meet disproportionate property claims is a pound taken away from frontline services that communities rely on.

When the Council chose to decommission the 218 service, Turning Point Scotland fulfilled all contractual obligations and vacated the premises in good faith. The property was regularly inspected by Glasgow City Council and the Care Inspectorate throughout our tenure, with no significant issues identified. In fact, Turning Point Scotland invested over £1.2 million in maintenance and improvements. This cost far exceeding the funding provided, to ensure the property remained compliant, safe and welcoming for the women we supported and staff.

Despite this, CPGI has raised a substantial claim alleging extensive disrepair and rent arrears following our departure, which we believe to be untrue and unreasonable.

It is important to note that CPGI is an Arms-Length External Organisation (ALEO) of Glasgow City Council, established to manage and generate revenue from the Council’s commercial property portfolio, with income used to help repay the Council’s historic equal pay liabilities. It is deeply unjust that a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting vulnerable people – and whose workforce is over 70% women – is being pursued to contribute indirectly to a debt arising from historic underpayment of women, through a disputed property claim.

This is not simply a property dispute; it speaks to wider issues about how social care providers are treated when public contracts end and the potential risk to vital services if this approach continues unchecked.

Wider sector implications:

  • This dispute highlights risks for third-sector providers working in partnership with public bodies. Unexpected, unfunded financial claims threaten the sustainability of essential services.
  • It raises serious questions about governance and transparency when commercial objectives conflict with public service delivery.
  • The case illustrates the need for consideration of community justice impacts, particularly in services supporting historically disadvantaged groups.
  • As an ALEO of Glasgow City Council, CPGI’s actions should reflect the Council’s social justice principles, not undermine them. The conduct displayed by CPGI throughout this process has been unnecessarily adversarial and risks damaging confidence across the wider voluntary sector.

Several attempts have been made to resolve this issue. Requests for discussion or mediated dialogue have been repeatedly rejected. Two letters have been written, one to the Chair of the ALEO, Councillor Paul Leinster, and one to Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council – however both have failed to reply. A complaint was also submitted to the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council; however, they refused to investigate.

Neil Richardson, Chief Executive, Turning Point Scotland, said:
“Our priority is to protect the vital services that support vulnerable people. This claim risks diverting resources away from those who need them most and it raises important questions about fairness, accountability and the treatment of not-for-profit providers.

CPGI have repeatedly referenced our other leases, which has been perceived as a thinly veiled threat. This is inappropriate and unprofessional, particularly given the essential services Turning Point Scotland provides to vulnerable people in those properties.

Turning Point Scotland is once again proposing a constructive route forward, including independent mediation, board engagement and a review of the wider public impact to reach a fair and responsible resolution. The aim is not only to resolve this dispute but to ensure that future partnerships between the public and third sectors remain viable and grounded in the principles of public good, transparency and equality.”