Sportscotland saved in Government U-Turn

11.57.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 11th Jan 2008

Mike Pringle welcomed yesterdays Government U-turn on the future of sports Scotland. But his delight that the organisation had been retained was tempered by the news that over 100 jobs associated with it were being moved from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

"I am delighted that the Government has seen sense and decided to retain Sportscotland but am concerned that yet more jobs seem to be moving to Glasgow. This move is unnecessary and expensive, surely the Government who pledged to cut bureaucracy would be better spending the money on improving Scottish sport, not shuffling jobs around under dubious auspices."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Ross Finnie MSP also commented on the plans. Condemning the Scottish Government for attempting to spin its way out of the embarrassing U-turn.

Mr Finnie said:

"No amount of spin can hide the fact that it's not just the name "Sportscotland" that is being retained, but all the key functions of the organisation. This is a fantastic victory for the Liberal Democrats and all those who supported our campaign to save Sportscotland.

"There is no evidence to back up the Minister's claim that the Government is undertaking a radical overhaul of Sportscotland. Ministers have been forced to reconsider their commitment to abolish Sportscotland and perform an embarrassing U-turn."