Fife Cultural Trust has defended its support of the Local Hero Awards at a time of cuts to public services.
With controversial plans to axe 16 Fife libraries out to consultation, the trust said the awards helped generate much-needed income.
Laurie Piper, head of customer services and external relations at Fife Cultural Trust, responded to concerns raised by a library user who questioned expenditure on the event, which is held in Rothes Halls in Glenrothes.
He said: “Events and activities such as the Kingdom FM Local Hero Awards support and reinforce our wider aspiration to develop our business in the longer-term and generate additional income for the trust.
“Having delivered more than £900,000 of savings for Fife Council already, and with a further £813,000 to deliver by 2018, I am sure you will appreciate that income generation is a key focus for us in order to ensure the long-term viability of our services.
“Fife Cultural Trust’s support of Kingdom FM’s Local Hero Awards is long-standing and closely aligned to our mission of enriching lives in Fife.
“We are happy to support Kingdom FM’s Local Hero Awards on this basis not only because they recognise and acknowledge the significant contribution individuals, businesses and organisations make towards this aim every day of the year, in communities across the kingdom, but also because holding such a prestigious event at Rothes Halls is in itself a great way of showcasing one of our flagship venues and encouraging new customers to bring their business to our facilities.”
Mr Piper said the trust had an arrangement with Kingdom FM where it was offered discounted advertising in exchange for “in-kind” support.
He said: “Kingdom FM is also a member of our corporate business sponsorship programme, ONBusiness, which is just one example of the many ways in which Fife Cultural Trust is able to generate additional, unbudgeted income.”
Glenrothes library user Anne Mirtle contacted The Courier with concerns about the trust’s support of the awards.
Mrs Mirtle, 70, uses the computers at Rothes Halls Library and the under-threat library at Glenwood. “It’s the only means I have of sending emails and using the internet,” she said.
“I’ve got relatives in Canada and I’ve sent emails to them in the past. I’ve also got cousins in this country who I meet once a year and we sort that out via email.”