The UK Government has today, Friday 12 February, opened a new walk-through coronavirus testing centre at Overton Community Centre in Kirkcaldy (KY1 3JP).

The test centre is part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history. In Scotland, this comprises of seven drive-through sites, 30 walk-through sites, 35 mobile units, plus the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab which is working round the clock to process samples.

In Scotland, the UK Government is providing all Covid testing and test processing outside of the NHS. Around two thirds of all daily tests are provided by the UK Government, in support of Scotland’s health services.

Tests must be booked in advance at NHS Inform or by calling 0800 028 2816. People should only book at test if they have coronavirus symptoms (a high temperature, a new and continuous cough, or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste).

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

To respond to the coronavirus, we have built a major testing and tracing system from scratch. We are constantly working to expand and improve it with new technologies and innovations so everyone with symptoms can get a test.

New walk-in sites like this one makes it even easier to get a test no matter where you live. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, I urge you to book a test today and follow the advice of NHS Test and Protect if you are contacted to protect others and stop the spread of the virus.

Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said:

Walk-through sites offer communities better access to coronavirus testing, so everyone with symptoms can get a test. This new site is part of our ongoing work to expand our testing network across the UK which now has the capacity to process more than 700,000 tests a day. We will continue to expand capacity to improve test turnaround times and push forward testing innovations to make sure anyone who needs a test can get one.

Please book a test if you have coronavirus symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature and a loss or change in sense of smell or taste, and follow the advice of NHS Test and Protect if you are contacted.

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart said

The UK Government is doing everything it can to support people in all parts of the UK through the pandemic.

Testing continues to play an important role how we manage the virus alongside the roll out of vaccines, helping to identify local outbreaks, slow down the rate of transmission and protect communities. I would like to thank the public for continuing to do the right thing and come forward to be tested when they display symptoms.

The UK Government continues to provide the bulk of testing in Scotland, with this new walk-through centre in Kirkcaldy just the latest in our extensive network. We have also secured and paid for millions of doses of the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines for all parts of the UK.

Hope is on the horizon, but we can’t let up on our efforts to contain the virus.

NHS Fife Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Esther Curnock, said:

Testing is vital in helping us to identify those who have contracted COVID-19, enabling us to break the chains of transmission by preventing from people from passing the virus on to others.

The new UK Government site in Kirkcaldy is part of a growing network of testing facilities in Fife and will improve access for local people with symptoms of COVID-19.

It remains crucial that anyone with symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of how mild, isolates immediately and arranges to get tested as soon as possible.

Simon Venn, Mitie Chief Government & Strategy Officer, said:

Our priority during the pandemic is to support the nation’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and help keep the country running. Testing is a critical part of the UK’s strategy to combat coronavirus and we’re proud to support the UK Government with this vital task. A big thank you to all the NHS staff, Mitie employees and other frontline heroes in Fife, who are working tirelessly to keep us all safe.

The Charity Commission has concluded its inquiry into the Bersam Trust, issuing three trustees with an Official Warning for placing the charity at risk by borrowing £1.9 million via inadequately documented loans.

The Bersam Trust has objects to raise funds for charitable causes including the support of the Orthodox Jewish religion and education. The charity also leases a building to a faith school and funds some of its support costs. It is based in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The Commission opened an inquiry into the charity in January 2019, due to ongoing concerns about its financial arrangements and governance.

The inquiry has found the trustees, who will receive the warning, oversaw borrowing of £1.9 million, via 49 separate loans, not documented within loan agreements. The loans were taken from various sources such as individuals and other charities.

Many were only agreed orally and whilst there is no evidence money was lost by the charity in this way, the Commission says the trustees exposed the charity to significant and unnecessary risk by their actions.

The Commission also found the charity was administrated in a way that failed to reflect that the school and charity were separate organisations, with one loan secured on the basis that the school achieved a satisfactory Ofsted rating, a matter the charity had no control over and which could have led to significant financial loss to the charity were the school to perform poorly.

The inquiry concluded that the failures in relation to these loans amount to misconduct and/or mismanagement by three of the charity’s trustees. Other actions that led to the Official Warning include their failure to:

• manage conflicts of interest appropriately during meetings, for example a trustee who worked at the school participated in decisions about the charity’s building being leased to the school, without this being identified or managed as a conflict

• hold regular meetings in line with their governing document

• document meetings adequately, even when significant decisions were taken

• follow an agreed action plan to address earlier failings identified by the Commission

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission, said:

Good governance is not a bureaucratic detail, it’s essential in ensuring a charity delivers on its charitable purpose and isn’t exposed to unnecessary risk.

The trustees of The Bersam Trust failed to ensure this and instead, through their lack of financial management and basic governance, agreed a significant number of undocumented loans that risked their charity’s future. Our inquiry has exposed these failures and it’s right the trustees have been issued with an Official Warning requiring them to act to protect their charity. We expect the trustees to comply with these actions.

The regulator has taken the significant step of exercising its power under section 75A of the Charities Act 2011 to issue an Official Warning to three of the trustees, specifying the action they should take to improve the governance and financial practice of the charity. Failure to rectify the failings set out in the Official Warning may lead to further action by the regulator.

The Commission’s inquiry into Bersam Trust has concluded, but it will continue to monitor the charity’s compliance with the actions set out in the Official Warning.

Ends.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Official Warning was issued to the trustees in place at the charity at the time most of these decisions were taken.
2. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
3. Read the inquiry report into the Bersam Trust

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